The  person  charging  this  material  is  re¬ 
sponsible  for  its  return  to  the  library  from 
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Latest  Date  stamped  below. 

Theft,  mutilation,  and  underlining  of  books 
are  reasons  for  disciplinary  action  and  may 
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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  LIBRARY  AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


DEC  -  5  «  W 


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2  4 


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8061  'UWltfd 
A  "N 

SOJH  piO[iCBf) 


The  Press  on  the  League 


OPINIONS  OF  NEWSPAPERS  ON  THE  LEAGUE’S 
PROPOSITIONS  TO  DEPORT  ALIEN 
CRIMINALS,  AND  TO  REQUIRE  A 
TEN  YEAR  PROBATIONARY 
PERIOD  BEFORE 
CITIZENSHIP 


H  stream  tbat  ts  bangerous  wben 
uncbecfeeb  will  prove 
a  blessing  to  tbe 
lanb  wben  well 
birecteb 


FOURTH  EDITION 


National  Liberal  Immigration  League 

Headquarters:  1 50  NASSAU  STREET,  Room  1019 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


The  League’s  Purposes. 


The  National  Liberal  Immigration  League  aims 
preserve  for  our  country  the  benefits  of  immigration  wl 
keeping  out  undesirable  immigrants. 

To  realize  this  object,  we  advocate  the  followil 
measures : 

The  laws  excluding  criminals,  paupers,  persons  haviil 
dangerous  contagious  diseases,  and  similar  undesirable  class* 
should  be  maintained  and  carefully  enforced. 

There  should  be  no  further  restriction  of  immigration. 

Immigrants  should  be  educated,  Americanized  and  fittd 
for  American  citizenship. 

Ample  provision  should  be  made  for  the  distribution 
immigrants,  who  should  be  especially  directed  to  the  Sout| 
and  West. 

In  order  to  diminish  the  evils  of  congestion,  free  tran 
portation  should  be  granted  from  overcrowded  regions  t| 
places  where  there  is  a  demand  for  labor.  Laborers  who  li\| 
in  congested  cities  should  also  receive  free  or  cheap  transport;] 
tions  to  suburbs. 

Aliens  who  commit  crimes  after  coming  here — unle 
paroled  or  pardoned — should  be  deported. 


Membership  Dues,  $1.00  per  Annum. 


The  Press  on  The  League. 


•< 


The  League  has  sent  to  newspapers  throughout  the  country 
a  statement  of  its  objects  and  activities,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
summary  : 

“The  National  Liberal  Immigration  League  has  been 
endeavoring  to  create  an  enlightened  public  sentiment  toward 
immigration,  and  oppose  specific  pieces  of  hostile  legislation. 
In  this  respect,  we  had  a  share  in  reducing  the  proposed  head- 
tax  from  $40  in  the  original  Gardner  bill  to  $5,  and  then  to  $4, 
and  in  defeating  the  educational  test.  Congressman  Bennet 
gives  the  League  the  entire  credit  for  the  defeat  of  this 
provision.  (*) 

“As  to  our  present  endeavors  :  While  we  consider  immi¬ 
gration  as  a  great  boon  to  this  country,  and  while  we  believe 
that  the  educational  test,  the  unnecessary  increase  in  head-tax 
and  other  restrictive  measures  are  harmful  through  excluding 
immigrants  of  the  right  sort  without  barring  out  the  undesira¬ 
bles,  yet  we  urge  a  drastic  policy  against  those  who  abuse 
the  hospitality  of  this  country.  We  are  making  efforts  to 


(*)  We  accompanied  our  statement  with  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  Congressman  William  S. 
Bennet,  in  which  he  said  : 

“  I  should  advise  that  your  League  continue.  The  increased  head-tax  is  worth  protesting 
against  and  in  addition  to  that,  notice  was  publicly  given  on  the  floor  of  the  House  that  the  Restriction- 
ists  intend  to  continue  their  campaign  with  the  idea  of  getting  the  educational  test  in  the  Sixtieth 
Congress. 

“  If  the  Restrictionists  continue  their  campaign,  you  ought  to  continue  yours,  and  I  cannot  speak 
too  highly  of  the  work  of  your  League  during  this  Congress,  without  which  it  is  quite  certain  that 
there  would  have  been  an  educational  test  upon  the  Statute  Books  to-day,  thus  excluding  yearly  about 
200,000  deserving  immigrants.” 


2 


secure  the  deportation  of  members  of  the  Black  Hand  and 
of  criminals  of  all  races.  As  the  Bible  says,  ‘Ye  shall  put  the 
evil  from  amongst  you.’  We  believe  that  instead  of  being  held 
in  our  prisons  as  a  burden  to  the  community,  all  new  arrivals 
who  become  criminals  should  be  deported,  as  is  now  done  with 
those  who  become  public  charges,  criminals  being  a  real  public 
charge. 

“We  also  consider  it  quite  proper  to  lengthen  to  ten  years 
the  period  of  probationary  citizenship.  The  honorable  title  of 
‘American  Citizen’  would  then  be  conferred  only  upon  those 
persons  who,  by  proper  conduct  and  by  their  knowledge  of  our 
institutions,  had  shown  themselves  worthy  of  this  privilege. 
The  cry  for  labor  in  this  country  is  so  great  that  we  welcome 
immigrants  to  work  as  laborers  on  our  streets,  railroads,  farms, 
and  mines.  We  welcome  even  more  willingly  the  illiterates,  as 
they  can  do  harder  work.  But  when  is  it  a  question  not  of  the 
admission  of  aliens,  but  of  conferring  on  them  the  rights  of 
citizenship — the  right  of  choosing  our  public  officials,  the  right 
to  vote  for  judges  and  to  serve  as  jurymen  entrusted  with  our 
material  interests,  with  our  life  and  with  the  honor  of  our 
women — then  we  are  more  exacting. 

“  In  view  of  the  importance  of  this  subject,  we  hope  you 
will  discuss  it  in  your  paper.’' 

This  statement  elicited  comments  not  only  from  newspapers 
inclined  toward  a  liberal  policy  in  regard  to  immigration,  but  also 
from  those  favoring  the  restriction  of  immigration.  It  is  significant 
that  nearly  all  agree  in  commending  our  two  propositions  referred 
to  above.  The  following  articles  are  chosen  from  various  papers 
without  regard  to  their  attitude  toward  the  restriction  of  immigra¬ 
tion. 


Washington  Herald — July  3,  1907. 


As  to  Italian  Immigrants 

In  view  of  the  frequency  of  the  so- 
called  “Black  Hand”  outrages  in  various 
parts  of  this  country,  especial  interest 
will  attach  to  the  statement  of  Congress¬ 
man  Bennet,  of  New  York,  who  is  now 
in  Italy  as  a  member  of  the  Federal  com¬ 
mission  appointed  to  investigate  the  im¬ 
migration  problem.  He  is  reported  to 
have  made  the  discovery  that  the  return 
to  Italy  of  so  many  Italians  from  the 
United  States  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they 
are  safer  in  Italy  from  the  secret  socie¬ 
ties. 

This  is  especially  interesting  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  Emily  Fogg  Meade’s  report  on 
“The  Italian  on  the  Land,”  published  by 
the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor, 
on  which  we  commented  recently.  If 
such  is  indeed  the  case,  it  is  a  sorry  re¬ 
flection  on  the  police  methods  of  this 
country.  It  also  goes  far  toward  proving 
that  we  need  a  stricter  enforcement  _  of 
the  present  laws  against  the  admission 
into  this  country  of  members  of  the  crim¬ 
inal  classes.  It  has  not  been  so  many 
years  ago  that  the  Italian  Mafia  won  un¬ 
pleasant  notoriety  in  this  country,  and 
because  the  people  of  New  Orleans  took 
the  question  of  punishment  into  their 
own  hands  it  cost  this  government  a  large 
sum  of  money  in  the  form  of  an  indem¬ 
nity.  Now  it  seems  that  the  Black  Hand 
Society  is  becoming  as  powerful  and  as 


terrifying  as  the  Mafia  was.  Attention 
has  been  focused  on  this  society  recently 
by  the  murder  of  a  six-year-old  child  near 
New  Orleans  by  members  of  the  band, 
who  had  stolen  the  child  for  ransom. 

In  this  connection  the  work  of  the  Na¬ 
tional  Liberal  Immigration  League  de¬ 
serves  attention.  It  has  taken  up  agita¬ 
tion  in  favor  of  deporting  criminal  aliens 
and  urges  the  raising  of  the  standard  of 
citizenship  by  prolonging  the  probation¬ 
ary  term  and  by  requiring  candidates  for 
naturalization  to  give  a  guaranty  of  good 
conduct  and  to  show  a  working  knowl¬ 
edge  of  our  institutions. 

Our  laws  at  present  provide  for  the  ex¬ 
clusion  of  paupers  and  diseased  and  other 
undesirable  classes,  but  it  is  evident  that 
the  clause  about  the  criminal  classes  is 
evaded  extensively.  Normal  Italian  im¬ 
migration  is  desirable.  The  honest,  in¬ 
dustrious  Italians  make  good  laborers  and 
are  efficient,  hard  working,  and  thrifty, 
but  the  secret  societies  that  fatten  on  the 
earnings  of  this  class  should  be  subdued 
in  some  way.  One  plan  proposed  by  the 
National  Liberal  Immigration  League 
seems  to  have  much  to  commend  it.  It 
is  that  immigrants  should  be  put  on  a 
probationary  term  of  ten  years,  and  if, 
during  that  period,  they  are  convicted  of 
crime  they  shall  not  be  put  into  prison 
and  then  turned  loose  on  the  American 
community,  but  shall  at  once  be  deported, 
never  again  to  land  on  these  shores. 


Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Standard-Union— July  1,  1907. 


Some  Good  Immigration  Suggestions. 

Curious  enough  is  the  coincidence  that 
at  one  and  the  same  time  the  sentiment 
for  restrictive  immigration  laws  is  in¬ 
creasing  and  the  economic  demand  for 
immigrants  is  growing  in  intensity.  The 
last  Congress  increased  the  head-tax  and 
made  more  strict  the  naturalization  rules. 
Meanwhile  the  State  of  South  Carolina, 
through  its  agents,  is  chartering  steam¬ 
ships  to  bring  in  immigrants,  employment 
agencies  have  been  accused  even  of  kid¬ 
naping  and  unlawful  imprisonment  to 
meet  the  demand  lor  unskilled  labor,  and 
the  vast  works  in  and  about  New  York, 
which  have  provided  employment  for  tens 
of  thousands  of  muscular  foreigners  in 


the  past  half-dozen  years,  are  not  half 
completed.  “Black  Hand”  outrages  have 
aroused  the  community  to  the  angriest 
resentment,  but  the  thought  of  prevent¬ 
ing  this  foreign  crime  by  excluding  for¬ 
eigners  en  bloc  is  arrested  by  the  reflec¬ 
tion  that  it  is  foreigners  who  are  doing 
the  absolutely  necessary  work  which 
Americans  are  not  willing,  or  are  too 
prosperous,  to  do. 

A  better  and  less  prejudiced  under¬ 
standing  of  the  whole  principle  of  immi¬ 
gration  is  arising  out  of  all  the  perplexi¬ 
ties.  So  long  as  America  continues  to 
make  progress,  it  will  need  immigrants, 
as  wealth  is  here  increasing  faster  than 
population.  The  notion  that  we  could  get 
the  most  desirable  class  of  immigrants 


4 


by  excluding  those  who  cannot  read  and 
write  has  been  pretty  thoroughly  explod¬ 
ed,  since  all  the  dangerous  criminals  who 
come  here  are  educated  and  many  of  the 
sturdy  workers  are  not.  But  some  good 
suggestions  have  been  made  by  a  National 
Liberal  Immigration  League,  recently 
formed  with  Edward  Lauterbach  as  presi¬ 
dent,  and  an  organization  of  representa¬ 
tive  citizens  including  R.  Fulton  Cutting, 
Gen.  Tracy,  Dr.  Parkhurst  and  Bishop 
Potter  and  men  of  similar  standing  in 
different  parts  of  the  country. 

The  League  urges  that  the  deportation 
law  be  amended  as  to  one  obvious  and 
glaring  defect.  A  foreign  resident  who 
becomes  a  pauper  before  taking  out  his 
final  papers  may  be  deported  to  the  place 
whence  he  came;  but  there  is  no  provi¬ 
sion  whatever  for  sending  back  the  for¬ 
eign  resident  who  becomes  a  criminal. 
This  is  a  matter  that  should  be  attended 
to  early  in  the  next  session  of  Congress. 
Furthermore,  the  League  calls  for  still 
higher  requirements  of  good  character 
and  intelligence  as  a  requisite  for  nat¬ 
uralization.  This  also  will  readily  obtain 
popular  assent. 


Another  feature  of  the  League’s  pro¬ 
gramme  may  not  at  once  secure  approval 
from  everyone,  but  is  based  upon  reasons 
which  ultimately  will  seem  convincing. 
This  is  a  requirement  of  ten  years’  resi¬ 
dence  for  naturalization.  There  is  here 
more  than  a  question  of  political  expe¬ 
diency.  Not  only  is  ten  years  a  short 
time  in  which  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  institutions  and  needs  of  the  country 
enough  to  act  as  one  of  its  rulers,  but 
it  is  also  a  fact  that  the  longer  the  pro¬ 
bation  the  less  encouragement  is  there 
for  the  political  corruption  which  begins 
with  the  buying  of  votes  and  frauds  up¬ 
on  the  electorate  and  ends  with  debauch¬ 
ing  the  whole  system  of  government  and 
business. 

The  advantages  to  the  community  in 
general  of  a  carefully  selected  extension 
of  the  franchise  to  the  foreign-born  can 
easily  be  seen.  Lest  the  requirement  of 
a  longer  probation  should  seem  invidious 
to  the  worthy  immigrant  honestly  seek¬ 
ing  citizenship,  he  cannot  be  too  earnestly 
assured  that  any  apparent  advantage  to 
him  in  thrusting  the  ballot  into  his  hands 
too  early  would  not  be  real,  or  satisfy¬ 
ing  to  his  own  self-respect. 


Gloucester,  Mass.,  Times — July  6,  1907. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE 
ALIEN  CRIMINAL, 

The  problem  of  the  alien  criminal  is 
awakening  much  interest  in  New  York 
City  and  is  being  thoroughly  discussed  by 
the  National  Liberal  Immigration  League. 

The  cry  for  labor  in  this  country  is  so 
great  emigrants  are  welcomed  to  pave  our 
streets,  build  railways  and  dig  subways. 
We  welcome  even  more  willingly  the  il¬ 
literates,  as  they  are  considered  the  bet¬ 
ter  fitted  for  hard  work.  But  when  it  is 
a  question  not  of  the  admission  of  aliens, 
but  of  conferring  on  them  the  rights  of 
citizenship — the  right  to  choose  our  may¬ 
ors,  governors  and  the  President,  the  right 
to  vote  for  judges,  and  to  serve  as  jury¬ 
men  entrusted  with  our  material  inter¬ 
ests,  with  our  life  and  the  honor  of  our 
women — then  we  are  more  exacting. 

The  league  above  mentioned  advocates 
a  ten-year  requirement  for  naturalization 
which  would  save  our  government  much 


concern  from  naturalized  citizens  who 
raise  troubles  in  foreign  lands.  It  also 
lays  stress  on  raising  the  standardship  of 
citizenship  by  prolonging  the  period  of 
probationary  citizenship  to  ten  years,  and 
by  requiring  of  candidates  for  naturali¬ 
zation  a  guarantee  of  good  conduct  and 
knowledge  of  our  institutions. 

Another  idea  which  is  being  advanced 
and  finding  favor  with  those  who  have 
given  the  subject  their  attention  is,  in 
effect,  to  extend  to  alien  criminals  the 
principle  already  applied  to  the  depend¬ 
ent  classes.  Under  the  present  law,  if 
an  immigrant  for  any  reason  become  a 
public  charge  before  becoming  a  citizen, 
he  may  be  sent  back  to  the  country  from 
which  he  came.  This  plan  is  endorsed 
by  men  who  speak  with  authority,  and 
calls  for  serious  consideration  by  Con¬ 
gress.  There  may  be  diplomatic  obsta¬ 
cles  in  some  instances,  but  it  is  certainly 
worth  the  attention  of  our  law  makers, 
as  it  is  a  question  of  much  importance. 


5 


Translation  from  the  N.  Y.  Italian  Herald. 


National  Liberal  Immigration  League. 

Against  the  agitation  for  restricting 
immigration  which  the  open  and  secret 
adversaries  of  European  immigration 
have  carried  on  for  a  long  time,  and 
which  has  its  centre  in  the  manufactur¬ 
ing  and  industrial  districts  of  New  Eng¬ 
land,  the  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  has  opposed  sagacious  and  pru¬ 
dent  activity  which  can  never  be  suffi¬ 
ciently  praised  and  which  deserves  the 
greatest  possible  publicity.  The  short  ac¬ 
count  of  the  League’s  activities  which  we 
received  yesterday  from  the  president  of 
the  League,  Hon.  Edward  Lauterbach,  is 
documentary  proof  of  our  assertion. 

The  League  has  distributed  by  thou¬ 
sands  books  and  pamphlets  in  favor  of 
immigration,  and  organized  mass  meet¬ 
ings  in  order  to  make  known  the  public 
sentiment.  It  sent  delegates  to  the  White 
House  and  to  Congress  to  protest  against 
the  restrictive  bills.  The  League  made 
its  voice  heard  at  the  conventions  of 
Nashville,  Missouri,  Mississippi  and  Bir¬ 
mingham,  where  its  representatives  met 
the  apostles  of  restriction  and  by  discus¬ 
sions  and  debates  enabled  the  gatherings 
to  see  both  sides  of  the  great  question. 

The  League  was  also  useful  and  active 
in  legislation.  When  in  1905  Hon.  Gard¬ 
ner  introduced  into  Congress  a  bill  im¬ 
posing  a  head-tax  of  $40  on  each  steerage 
passenger,  the  League  opposed  it  with 


such  vigor  and  happy  fortune  that  in  the 
following  bills  the  tax  was  reduced  as  low 
as  $5,  which  in  the  new  law  has  again 
been  reduced  to  $4. 

In  June,  1906,  the  prohibitive  law  which 
passed  unanimously  the  Senate  failed  in 
the  House  through  the  opposition  of  the 
League.  In  February,  1907,  the  well- 
known  educational  test  aiming  to  debar 
from  America  all  illiterates,  was  com¬ 
pletely  defeated,  and  for  this  defeat  the 
League  has  the  “pars  magna”  of  the 
credit. 

In  the  future  the  League  will  pass  from 
a  negative  to  a  positive  position  in  the 
following  way.  Though  maintaining  and 
supporting  the  principle  that  free  immi¬ 
gration  conduces  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  country,  yet  the  League  does  not  dis¬ 
guise  that  drastic  measures  ought  to  be 
taken  to  bar  out  those  who  do  not  de¬ 
serve  American  hospitality.  For  this  rea¬ 
son  the  League  strongly  advocates  the 
deportation  of  those  affiliated  with  the 
Black  Hand,  and  criminals  of  every  race. 
For  the  same  reason  the  League  also  pro¬ 
poses  to  lengthen  to  ten  years  the  time 
between  the  first  and  second  papers. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  appeal  of 
Hon.  Edward  Lauterbach  for  moral  and 
material  aid  of  the  propaganda  of  the 
Liberal  Immigration  League,  will  be  re¬ 
sponded  to  by  all,  and,  let  us  hope,  with 
greater  generosity  than  in  the  past. 


Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  Times — June  27.  1907. 


Immigrant  Probation. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League’s  plan  to  protect  the  American 
population  against  immigrants  who  devel¬ 
op  criminal  tendencies  commands  atten¬ 
tion.  The  idea  is  to  apply  the  deportation 
principle  as  in  the  case  of  dependents. 
To  this  end  the  League  would  prolong  the 
period  of  probationary  citizenship  to  ten 
years  and  require  of  candidates  for  nat¬ 
uralization  a  guarantee  of  good  conduct 
and  knowledge  of  our  institutions.  Any 
immigrant  who  became  a  criminal  during 
that  period  would  not  then  be  locked  in 
jail  and  maintained  at  our  expense,  but 
would  be  shipped  back  to  the  country 


whence  he  came  and  not  be  allowed  to 
return. 

The  need  and  efficacy  of  such  a  plan 
are  almost  daily  demonstrated.  Many 
foreigners  enter  our  gates  and  become 
residents  only  to  begin  criminal  careers. 
Many  of  them  are  desperate  offenders 
against  law  and  order.  If  a  foreigner  can 
only  pass  the  usual  tests  at  Ellis  Island 
and  is  not  a  pauper  or  invalid,  he  may 
stay  and  do  as  he  pleases.  If  he  sins,  the 
authorities  will  support  him.  There  is  a 
great  inconsistency  here.  There  is  no 
moral  test,  but  only  a  material  one.  We 
let  in  the  germs  of  crime  without  ques¬ 
tion  and  guarantee  to  keep  them  while 
they  spread  in  the  social  body. 


6 


Lincoln,  Neb.,  Journal— June  28,  1907. 


The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  is  working  on  a  systematic  cam¬ 
paign  to  secure  important  amendments  to 
the  immigration  laws  in  the  next  session 
of  Congress.  The  idea  of  the  League  is 
to  admit  as  many  illiterate  laborers  as 
care  to  enter  the  country — not  only  to 
admit  them,  but  to  welcome  them,  in  or¬ 
der  that  our  railroads  may  be  built,  our 


subways  dug  and  our  farms  cultivated. 
But  when  it  comes  to  exercising  citizen¬ 
ship,  these  aliens  are  to  be  required  to 
serve  a  probationary  term  of  at  least  ten 
years  before  receiving  their  final  papers. 
The  League  claims  to  be  receiving  a  vast 
amount  of  influential  support  in  this  pro¬ 
gram. 


New  York  Evening  Post — May  1,  1907. 


A  POSITIVE  IMMIGRATION 
PROGRAMME. 

Beyond  all  question,  one  of  the  most 
effective  arguments  of  the  immigration 
restrictionists  is  the  recent  activity  of 
Italian  and  other  alien  criminals  in  this 
country.  A  few  weeks  ago  two  New  York 
policemen  were  killed  in  the  pursuit  of 
an  Italian  assassin.  For  the  last  two  days 
the  press  has  been  full  of  news  about  the 
arrest  of  alleged  kidnappers  among  the 
“Black  Hand.”  This,  as  Lieut.  Petrosino 
says,  is  not  a  large  society,  but  a  name 
often  assumed  by  small  bands  of  Sicilians 
or  Calabrians  for  threatening  purposes. 
“Look  at  the  list  of  outrages,”  say  the  re¬ 
strictionists.  “Are  we  to  allow  men  of 
this  kind  to  continue  entering  our  coun¬ 
try  by  hundreds  of  thousands  every 
year?” 

A  drastic  restrictive  measure,  with  an 
educational  test  as  its  chief  feature,  failed 
of  enactment  in  the  last  Congress  by  the 
narrowest  of  margins;  while  a  compro¬ 
mise  bill,  carrying  an  increased  head-tax, 
became  law.  That  efforts  will  be  resumed 
in  the  next  Congress  to  put  through  all 
the  eliminated  provisions  is  certain.  It 
is  therefore  most  significant  that  the 
friends  of  reasonable  immigration  are 
preparing  to  abandon  a  purely  negative 
programme  and  offer  constructive  legis¬ 
lation  of  their  own.  The  Liberal  Immi¬ 
gration  League,  the  influential  organiza¬ 
tion  which  led  in  the  opposition  to  the 
narrow  bills  of  the  last  two  years,  has 
already  suggested  a  method  of  dealing 
with  the  pressing  problem  of  the  alien 
criminal  which  certainly  deserves  consid¬ 
eration. 

The  idea  is,  in  effect,  to  extend  to  crim¬ 


inals  the  principle  of  deportation  already 
applied  to  the  dependent  classes.  Under 
the  present  law,  if  an  immigrant  for  any 
reason  becomes  a  public  charge  before  be 
coming  a  citizen,  he  may  be  sent  back  to 
the  country  from  which  he  came.  The 
Immigration  Bureau  has  developed  a  sys¬ 
tem  of  co-operation  with  the  poor  author¬ 
ities  of  various  localities  and  kept  its  rec¬ 
ords  in  such  a  way  that  the  operation  of 
this  law  is  now  comparatively  certain. 
Several  hundred  deportations  under  this 
provision  are  made  from  this  city  alone 
every  year.  If  the  same  foreigner  com¬ 
mits  a  crime,  however,  instead  of  becom¬ 
ing  a  pauper,  we  cot  only  put  ourselves 
to  the  expense  of  his  punishment,  but, 
after  he  has  served  his  term,  let  him  con¬ 
tinue  to  live  in  this  country.  It  is  cited 
as  an  illustration  of  present  conditions 
that  132  Italian  “confidence  men”  are  now 
serving  time  in  Sing  Sing.  If  the  same 
men,  within  a  certain  period  after  their 
arrival,  had  merely  applied  for  aid  at  the 
foot  of  East  Twenty-sixth  Street,  Italy 
could  have  been  compelled  to  take  them 
back. 

It  has  been  the  usual  practice,  in  this 
city  at  least,  not  to  deport  paupers  who 
had  taken  out  their  “first  papers.”  The 
new  naturalization  law,  which  simplifies " 
and  makes  uniform  the  process  of  acquir¬ 
ing  citizenship,  will  probably  facilitate 
somewhat  the  working  of  the  deportation 
law  in  future.  There  are  doubtless  con¬ 
siderable  difficulties  in  applying  the  same 
principle  to  the  criminal  classes.  Proper 
legal  safeguards  should  be  provided,  with 
machinery  for  this  kind  of  unsolicited 
extradition.  There  may  be  diplomatic  ob¬ 
stacles  in  some  instances,  but  the  plan, 
on  the  endorsements  it  has  already  re- 


7 


ceived  from  men  who  speak  with  author¬ 
ity,  calls  for  serious  attention  by  Con¬ 
gress. 

Lieut.  Petrosino  is  quoted  as  saying 
that,  since  a  criminal  deportation  law 
was  passed  at  Tunis,  ten  thousand  Sici¬ 
lian  criminals  and  semi-criminals  have 
emigrated  to  the  United  States.  A  great 
many  of  these  have  long  criminal  and 
prison  records  in  their  own  country.  It 
is  suggested  that  the  requirement  of  a 
passport  from  every  arriving  immigrant 
would  keep  out  many  criminals  who  have 
hitherto  slipped  past  our  immigration  au¬ 
thorities  because  of  lack  of  identification. 

Unless  a  counter-proposition  is  offered, 
some  practical  means  of  getting  rid  of 
undesirable  immigrants,  some  method  of 
keeping  the  good  and  eliminating  the 
bad,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  restriction- 
ists  will  be  more  formidable  than  ever  at 
the  next  trial.  It  is  not  enough  to  point 
out  that  the  successful  swindler  could  pay 
much  more  easily  than  the  honest  day 
laborer  the  $40  head-tax  provided  by  the 
Gardner  bill  of  1905,  nor  that  the  writing 
of  a  “Black  Hand”  letter  is  in  itself  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  ability  to  pass  a  test  of  lit¬ 
eracy  at  Ellis  Island.  The  effort  to  re¬ 
awaken  Know-Nothing  sentiment  in  this 
country  has  been  skilful  and  audacious. 
Organized  labor  has  brought  strong  pres¬ 


sure  to  bear  upon  Congress,  and,  as  we 
have  said  already,  every  outrage  commit¬ 
ted  by  Italians  in  our  large  cities  helps 
in  the  creation  of  this  sentiment.  The 
criminal  and  dishonest  Italians  in  New 
York  are  heard  of,  while  the  fifty  times 
larger  population  of  the  industrious  and 
law-abiding  are  forgotten. 

Our  immigration  law  is  now  about  as 
sweeping  as  logical  and  discriminating 
legislation  can  be.  We  exclude  every  class 
of  persons  demonstrably  “undesirable.” 
The  next  proposal  of  the  restrictionists 
will  be  to  cut  down  the  number  of  arriv¬ 
ing  aliens  in  some  way  or  other.  Wheth¬ 
er  the  new  bill  cuts  out  those  who  cannot 
read  and  write,  or  who  cannot  pay  a  high 
head-tax,  or  who  are  of  “low  vitality,”  or 
who  merely  stand  number  500,001  or 
worse  in  the  line  at  our  gates,  it  will 
keep  out  many  we  should  be  sorry  to  miss, 
and  let  in  many  who  will  plague  us  here¬ 
after.  The  alternative  is  for  the  friends 
of  immigration  to  uphold  and  supplement 
the  good  features  of  our  policy.  When 
our  Italian  residents  unite,  as  their  lead¬ 
ers  are  now  urging  them  to  do,  in  the 
pursuit  of  criminals  of  their  own  race, 
and  the  believers  in  unrestricted  asylum 
for  all  races  are  zealous  in  seeing  that 
our  hospitality  is  not  abused,  the  dema¬ 
gogue’s  appeal  has  its  best  answer. 


Portland,  Mains,  Advertiser — July  17,  1907. 


FOR  FREE  IMMIGRATION. 

There  is  an  organization  known  as  the 
National  Liberal  Immigration  League 
which  opposes  all  forms  of  restrictive  im¬ 
migration  laws — such  as  educational  and 
property  qualifications,  a  head-tax,  etc., 
and  which  contends  that  the  free  admis¬ 
sion  of  aliens  would  be  for  the  benefit 
of  the  country.  Heretofore  its  activity 
has  been  entirely  in  opposition  to  pro¬ 
posed  restrictive  measures,  on  the  ground 
that  while  they  would  exclude  those  who 
would  be  good  material  for  citizenship, 
they  would  be  no  great  bar  to  the  unde¬ 
sirable.  But  it  now  advocates  positive 
instead  of  negative  policies,  and  would 
have  more  done  than  has  been  to  keep 
out,  and  to  get  out,  those  who  would  be¬ 
come  a  burden  upon  our  institutions,  and 
the  lengths  to  which  it  would  wish  to  go 
are  shown  by  what  it  urges  should  be 
done.  It  wants  all  new  arrivals  who  be- 
become  criminals  deported — as  are  those 


who  become  paupers — instead  of  be¬ 
ing  kept  in  prisons  and  penitentiaries  at 
the  expense  of  the  community.  It  also 
believes  in  lengthening  to  ten  years  the 
period  of  probationary  citizenship. 
“While,”  it  says,  “it  is  right  to  admit 
men  and  give  them  opportunities  to  earn 
a  livelihood,  we  are  not  bound  or  called 
upon-  to  confer  citizenship  too  freely.  The 
title  of  citizen  stTouIcTTRr  conferred  onl^ 
upon  those  who,  by  proper  conduct  and 
knowledge  of  our  institutions,  have  shown 
themselves  worthy  of  the  privilege.” 

There  is  much  in  this  plan  with  which 
all  who  want  to  see  immigration  a  benefit 
rather  than  a  detriment  can  agree.  An 
especially  good  point  is  made  in  the  de¬ 
mand  that  an  immigrant  should  not  be 
regarded  as  here  permanently  if  it  should 
be  seen  any  time  after  his  arrival  that 
there  is  no  hope  of  his  becoming  one  of 
the  desirable  class.  It  will  be  well  for 
the  future  of  America  if  a  law  to  that 
effect  can  be  enacted. 


8 


New  York  Wall  Street  Journal — June  28,  1907. 


IMMIGRATION  AND  CITIZENSHIP 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  is  opposed  to  any  narrow  limi¬ 
tation  of  immigration,  but  it  proposes  a 
ten-year  requirement  for  naturalization 
of  aliens. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  is  on  the  right  tack.  We  ought 
not  to  restrict  immigration  because  we 


need  more  labor  for  the  development  of 
our  national  resources.  But  we  ought  to 
be  more  and  more  careful  about  extend¬ 
ing  the  rights  of  citizenship  to  those  who 
come  to  our  shores.  We  should  not  deny 
them  the  privilege  of  citizenship,  but  we 
should  make  a  longer  period  of  probation 
and  residence  the  necessary  preliminary 
for  citizenship. 


Easton,  Pa.,  Press — June  27,  1907. 


OUR  IMMIGRATION  LAWS. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League,  with  offices  in  New  York  City, 
advocates  that  criminal  aliens  should  be 
deported  just  as  those  who  become  pub¬ 
lic  charges.  It  also  lays  stress  on  raising 
the  standard  of  citizenship  by  prolonging 
the  period  of  probationary  citizenship  to 
ten  years,  and  by  requiring  of  candidates 
for  naturalization  a  guarantee  of  good 
conduct  and  knowledge  of  our  institu¬ 
tions. 

The  cry  for  labor  in  this  country  is  so 
great  that  we  welcome  immigrants  to 
pave  our  streets,  build  railroads,  dig  sub¬ 
ways,  work  on  our  farms  and  enter  indus¬ 
tries.  We  welcome  even  more  willingly 
the  illiterates,  as  they  are  more  fitted  to 
do  hard  work.  But  when  it  is  a  question 
not  of  the  admission  of  aliens,  but  of 
conferring  on  them  the  rights  of  citizen¬ 


ship — the  right  to  choose  our  mayors 
governors,  and  the  President,  the  right  to 
vote  for  judges,  and  to  serve  as  jurymen 
entrusted  with  our  material  interests 
with  our  life  and  the  honor  of  our  women 
then  we  should  be  more  exacting,  and  the 
League’s  efforts  are  directed  to  this  at 
tainment. 

The  ten-year  requirement  for  natural! 
zation  presents  many  sound  points,  and 
it  would  save  our  government  much  con¬ 
cern  from  naturalized  citizens  who  raise 
troubles  in  foreign  lands. 

In  view  of  the  importance  of  this  sub 
ject,  it  is  well  to  give  it  proper  attention, 
and  to  raise  a  discussion  of  it  with  a  view 
of  creating  a  strong  public  sentiment  ir 
its  behalf.  Our  immigration  laws  cannot 
be  too  liberal  in  welcoming  desirable 
classes  no  matter  how  poor,  nor  too  strin 
gent  in  excluding  the  vicious  no  matter 
how  rich. 


Elkhart,  Indiana,  Review — June  27,  1907. 


The  Liberal  Immigration  League 
is  working  on  some  lines  that  ought  to 
result  in  better  if  not  restricted  impor¬ 
tations  from  foreign  lands.  It  advocates 
that  criminal  aliens  should  be  deported, 
just  as  are  those  who  become  public 
charges.  It  also  lays  stress  on  raising 
the  standard  of  citizenship  by  prolonging 
the  period  of  probationary  citizenship  to 
ten  years,  and  by  requiring  of  candidates 
for  naturalization  a  guarantee  of  good 
conduct  and  knowledge  of  our  institutions. 
No  one,  even  the  most  ardent  advocate 
of  making  this  country  an  asylum  for  the 
oppressed  and  the  ambitious  of  the  world, 
can  reasonably  object  to  these  modifica¬ 


tions  of  our  laws.  The  League  says  in  a 
circular  letter  what  is  emphatically  true, 
that  the  cry  for  labor  in  this  country  is 
so  great  that  we  welcome  immigrants  to 
pave  our  streets,  build  railroads  and  dig 
subways.  We  need  not  exclude  the  illit¬ 
erates,  as  they  are  more  fitted  to  do  hard 
work.  But  when  it  is  a  question  of  con¬ 
ferring  on  these  aliens  the  rights  of  citi¬ 
zenship — the  right  to  choose  our  mayors, 
governors  and  the  President,  the  right  to 
vote  for  judges,  and  to  serve  as  jurymen 
entrusted  with  our  material  interests, 
with  our  life  and  the  honor  of  our  women 
— then  we  need  to  be  more  exacting. 


9 


Easton,  Pa.,  Sunday  Call— June  30,  1907. 


NEW  IMMIGRATION  LAWS. 


How  Shall  European  Criminals  Be  Kept 
Out  of  the  United  States. 

The  fact  that  many  crimes  are  commit¬ 
ted  by  aliens  is  not  disputed  by  the  bet¬ 
ter  class  of  our  much  respected  foreign- 
born  citizens,  but  very  much  regretted  by 
them.  The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  of  New  York  City,  while  in  favor 
of  encouraging  the  coming  to  America  of 


the  industrious  and  honest  laboring  class¬ 
es,  has  been  debating  and  planning  how 
to  keep  out  the  criminal  and  degenerate. 
The  following  article  from  the  New  York 
Evening  Post  is  a  fair  consideration  oi 
a  matter  of  no  little  consequence  to  all 
Americans.  We  think  it  is  a  fair  state¬ 
ment  of  the  situation  and  might  in  part 
prove  corrective  of  existing  evils: 

The  Sunday  Call  then  reproduced  the 
article  from  the  Evening  Post ,  which  will 
be  found  on  page  6. 


Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Chronicle — June  13,  1907. 


IDEAS  ABOUT  IMMIGRATION. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  seems  to  occupy  a  sort  of  middle 
ground  on  the  question  of  admitting 
aliens  into  our  ports  and  permitting  them 
to  live  among  us.  It  believes  in  large 
immigration,  but  it  favors  strict  exclu¬ 
sion  of  undesirables. 

The  League  believes  that  the  educa¬ 
tional  test,  the  increased  head-tax  and 
other  restrictive  measures  do  harm  in 
keeping  out  immigrants  of  the  right  sort, 
without  barring  those  who  are  not  wanted. 
The  proposed  remedy  is  not  to  strength¬ 
en  the  barriers,  but  practically  to  abolish 
them,  and  afterward  to  expel  from  the 
country  those  who  abuse  its  hospitality. 
There  is  some  force  in  the  suggestion  that 
we  should  not  house  foreign  criminals  in 
our  prisons,  but  should  send  them  back  to 
their  native  countries. 

But  there  would  probably  be  formidable 
obstacles  to  the  carrying  out  of  such  a 
policy.  Having  once  received  on  our 
shores  a  body  of  immigrants,  thus  admit¬ 
ting  by  implication  that  they  were  fit  sub¬ 
jects  for  our  hospitality,  some  delicacy 
might  attend  the  task  of  subsequently 
picking  out  the  criminals  and  unloading 
them  on  the  countries  of  their  birth.  A 
well-defined  system  of  probation  would 
have  to  be  devised  to  carry  out  such  a 
policy. 

While  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  our 
immigration  laws  do  not  fully  accomplish 
their  purpose,  the  true  remedy  would 
seem  to  be  a  strengthening  of  those  laws 


at  weak  or  defective  points,  instead  of 
absolutely  repealing  them.  It  is  difficult 
to  see  how  anything  can  be  gained  by  ad¬ 
mitting  everybody  who  wants  to  come  and 
afterward  selecting  the  undesirables  for 
deportation.  There  are  many  worthy 
immigrants  in  Rochester,  but  there  are 
others  who  never  ought  to  have  been  per¬ 
mitted  to  land  on  American  soil. 

Another  recommendation  by  the  League 
is  worthy  of  consideration.  It  is  to  the 
effect  that  the  probationary  period  of  citi¬ 
zenship  be  lengthened  to  ten  years.  The 
argument  is  that  “the  honorable  title  of 
‘American  citizen’  would  then  be  con¬ 
ferred  only  upon  those  persons  who,  by 
proper  conduct  and  by  their  knowledge 
of  American  institutions,  had  shown 
themselves  worthy  of  this  privilege.”  The 
late  Kate  Field,  one  of  the  brightest  and 
most  patriotic  of  American  women,  stren¬ 
uously  urged  a  period  of  twenty-one  years. 
She  contended,  with  much  force,  that  in¬ 
asmuch  as  a  native  American  must  be 
twenty-one  years  fitting  himself  for  the 
privilege  of  voting,  a  foreigner  should  be 
put  through  as  long  a  period  of  discipline. 

This  policy,  of  course,  was  never  adopt¬ 
ed,  and  probably  never  will  be;  but  it  can 
not  be  denied  that  it  is  worse  than  ab¬ 
surd,  in  many  cases,  to  put  the  ballot  in 
the  hands  of  persons  who  have  no  con¬ 
ception  of  the  responsibilities  of  Ameri¬ 
can  citizenship,  who  are  profoundly  igno¬ 
rant  of  our  institutions,  and  who  have  not 
even  taken  the  trouble  to  learn  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  their  adopted  country. 


10 


N.  Y.  Globe  and  Commercial  Advertiser — June  27,  1907. 


FROM  IMMIGRANT  TO  CITIZEN. 

When  a  country  has  become  the  Mecca 
for  the  ambitious  poor  of  the  entire  civ¬ 
ilized  world,  as  has  the  United  States; 
when  its  annual  increment  of  foreigners 
amounts  to  over  a  million  individuals,  all 
of  them  familiar  with  life  under  a  differ¬ 
ent  and  stricter  form  of  government  and 
trained  to  a  different  social  organization; 
when,  mixed  with  this  great  grist  of  good 
human  wheat,  there  comes,  as  is  inevita¬ 
ble,  a  certain  amount  of  chaff  in  the  shape 
of  criminals  and  paupers — when,  in  short, 
the  immigration  question  reaches  the 
stage  it  has  in  this  country  to-day,  a  new 
problem  in  the  assimilation  of  aliens  is 
put  before  the  world. 

Never  before  on  so  large  a  scale,  nor 
with  peoples  of  so  various  an  origin,  has 
the  question  been  presented  to  a  nation. 
It  is  little  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore, 
that  extreme  differences  of  opinion  have 
arisen  as  to  the  best  method  of  meeting 
the  great  inrush  and  making  the  immi¬ 
grants  into  useful  citizens,  or  at  least 
workers,  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  A 
certain  amount  of  information  has,  how¬ 
ever,  come  through  experience,  and  there 
are  two  conclusions  regarding  present 
methods  of  receiving  new  arrivals  which 
seem  not  open  to  serious  dispute. 

As  set  forth  by  the  National  Liberal 
Immigration  League  these  are,  first,  that 
we  are  too  careless  in  admitting  crimi¬ 
nals,  and,  secondly,  far  too  precipitate  in 
labelling  the  immigrant  a  citizen  and  giv¬ 
ing  him  the  franchise.  The  criminal  alien 
should  be  deported  as  soon  as  discovered, 
just  as  are  now  those  aliens  who  become 


public  charges.  Indeed,  there  is  far  more 
need  for  such  a  policy  in  the  former  than 
the  latter  case.  The  pauper  is  simply  a 
drag  on  his  community;  the  criminal  is 
not  only  a  drag  but  a  menace  to  social 
welfare  and  law  and  order. 

In  the  matter  of  citizenship  the  proba¬ 
tionary  period  of  ten  years  advocated  by 
the  Immigration  League  in  place  of  the 
present  five  years  seems  none  too  long. 
While  the  spirit  of  American  institutions 
is  directly  opposed  to  closing  the  door  of 
opportunity  against  any  honest,  law-abid¬ 
ing  voyager  to  the  new  world,  and,  as 
President  Eliot  put  it  at  the  Civic  Federa¬ 
tion’s  immigration  conference,  the  coun¬ 
try  really  needs  all  “the  good  blood  and 
brain  and  muscle”  it  can  attract  from 
other  countries,  the  unusual  democracy 
of  its  government  and  the  voice  each  citi¬ 
zen  has  in  public  affairs  make  it  extreme¬ 
ly  important  that  the  franchise  be  not 
lightly  given  or  received. 

The  applicant  for  naturalization  should 
not  only  be  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  his 
new  country  but  have  a  realizing  sense  of 
the  privilege  he  is  asking  and  the  obli¬ 
gations  its  receipt  imposes.  Mr.  Carne¬ 
gie  used  to  say  that  if  he  “was  running 
America”  as  a  business  proposition  he 
would  give  every  honest,  frugal  man  am¬ 
bitious  to  enjoy  the  rights  of  an  Ameri¬ 
can  citizen  a  premium  for  taking  them, 
but  he  certainly  would  not  make  the  man 
a  director  in  the  concern  until  he  had 
learned  something  about  the  business  of 
self-government.  He  would  not — at  least 
if  he  ran  the  country  the  way  he  did  his 
steel  works. 


Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  Record — Jusie  21,  1907. 


ALIEN  UNDESIRABLES. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League,  organized  for  the  proper  regula¬ 
tion  and  better  distribution  of  immigra¬ 
tion,  has  just  sent  out  a  brief  summary 
of  the  work  accomplished  and  the  ques¬ 
tions  with  which  the  League  is  at  present 
occupied.  The  membership,  by  the  wray, 
is  made  up  of  some  of  the  most  eminent 
men  of  the  country. 

While  the  Record  cannot  agree  with 
every  feature  of  the  program  advocated 
by  the  League,  it  does  heartily  agree  with 
that  portion  of  it  which  aims  at  the  en¬ 
forcement  of  a  drastic  policy  against  those 


who  abuse  the  hospitality  of  this  country. 

In  this  connection  the  circular  says: 
“We  are  making  efforts  to  secure  the  de¬ 
portation  of  members  of  the  Black  Hand 
and  of  criminals  of  all  races.  As  the  Bi¬ 
ble  says,  ‘Ye  shall  put  the  evil  from 
amongst  you.’  We  believe  that  instead 
of  being  held  in  our  prisons  as  a  burden 
to  the  community,  all  new  arrivals  who 
become  criminals  should  be  deported,  as 
is  now  done  with  those  who  become  a 
public  charge.” 

The  Record  has  for  several  years  been 
urging  this  very  point.  It  would  be  an 
excellent  solution  of  the  immigration 


11 


problem  if  our  inspectors  could  pick  out 
the  desirables  from  the  undesirables.  But 
that  cannot  be  done.  An  educational  test 
might  in  a  measure  shut  out  the  most  ig¬ 
norant,  but  some  of  the  most  ignorant 
are  likely  to  be  the  most  law-abiding  and 
industrious.  A  heavy  head-tax  might  keep 
out  the  most  poverty-stricken,  but  pov¬ 
erty  does  not  always  mean  crime.  Fur¬ 
thermore,  it  is  impossible  to  say  from  an 
inspection  of  the  immigrant  whether  he 
is  criminally  inclined.  That  is  a  tenden¬ 
cy  that  must  be  observed  from  experience 
with  the  immigrant,  and  it  is  the  only 
way. 

We  know  that  a  large  number  of  those 
who  accept  our  hospitality  are  more  or 
less  of  the  degenerate  type.  Their  first 
thought  after  landing  is  to  arm  them¬ 
selves  with  revolvers  and  stilettos.  They 


use  these  weapons  upon  the  least  provo¬ 
cation.  They  have  little  regard  for  the 
value  of  human  life  or  for  the  laws  of 
the  country.  Our  courts  are  burdened 
with  this  class  of  criminals,  and  the  com¬ 
munities  in  which  they  congregate  are 
put  to  heavy  expense  in  the  matter  of 
taxation.  The  idea  of  deporting  an  immi¬ 
grant  who  commits  serious  crimes  with¬ 
out  such  provocation  as  will  stand  as  an 
adequate  defense,  instead  of  allowing  him 
to  remain  in  this  country  as  a  menace 
and  supporting  him  in  his  imprisonment, 
seems  to  be  the  best  possible  solution  of 
the  alien  criminal  problem.  The  possibil¬ 
ity  of  deportation  should  act  as  a  deter¬ 
rent  against  the  commission  of  crime  by 
those  who  desire  to  remain  here  and  fol¬ 
low  up  the  opportunities  of  employment 
and  American  freedom. 


Washington,  D.  C.,  Pathfinder — July  6,  1907. 


Restriction  of  Immigration. 

Perhaps  no  law  that  has  yet  been  leg¬ 
islated  has  been  found  equal  to  every  case 
to  be  decided  within  its  limits;  the  in¬ 
accuracies  of  language  and  the  imperfec¬ 
tions  of  human  judgment  are  too  numer¬ 
ous  to  admit  of  a  flawless  code.  The  laws 
governing  immigration  to  this  country 
furnish  no  exception  to  this  state  of 
things  and  the  National  Liberal  Immigra¬ 
tion  League  is  making  efforts  to  secure 
a  different  basis  for  them.  It  points  out 
that  most  of  the  proposed  amendments 
to  the  existing  laws  promise  little  im¬ 
provement  on  their  illogical  and  unsatis¬ 
factory  exactions;  it  considers  that  legis¬ 
lation  has  proceeded  on  a  false  basis,  it 
being  calculated  to  shut  out  many  immi¬ 
grants  whose  services  are  wanted  and  to 
let  in  many  who  are  certain  to  become 
“undesirable  citizens”;  the  property  and 
educational  qualifications  seems  to  be  in¬ 
sufficient  and  thousands  who  have  no 
money  and  no  education,  yet  who  would 
make  good  citizens,  are  turned  away  de¬ 
spite  their  good  character  and  willingness 
to  work. 

The  Immigration  League  proposes  to 
deal  with  the  problem  by  prolonging  the 
period  of  probationary  citizenship  to  ten 
years  by  requiring  of  candidates  for  nat¬ 
uralization  a  guarantee  of  good  conduct 
and  knowledge  of  our  institutions,  and  by 
deporting  all  unnaturalized  criminals. 


The  president  of  the  organization  says  in 
this  connection:  “The  cry  for  labor  in 
this  country  is  so  great  that  we  welcome 
immigrants  to  pave  our  streets,  build  rail¬ 
roads  and  dig  subways.  We  welcome  even 
more  willingly  the  illiterates,  as  they  are 
more  fitted  to  do  hard  work.  But  when 
it  is  a  question  not  of  the  admission  of 
aliens,  but  of  conferring  on  them  the 
rights  of  citizenship — the  right  to  choose 
our  mayors,  governors  and  the  President, 
the  right  to  vote  for  judges,  and  to  serve 
as  jurymen  entrusted  with  our  material 
interests,  with  our  life  and  the  honor  of 
our  women — then  we  are  more  exacting.” 

The  Providence  Journal  considers  that, 
“in  other  words,  it  is  restriction  of  cit¬ 
izenship  rather  than  restriction  of  immi¬ 
gration  that  is  essential.  There  is  much 
force  in  this  view.  There  is  possibly  a 
danger  in  illiteracy  apart  from  citizen¬ 
ship.  It  will  not  do  to  unbar  the  gates 
altogether  even  if  some  welcome  immi¬ 
grants  are  shut  out  and  some  unwelcome 
ones  get  in  by  the  lowest  bars.  And  any 
test  which  may  be  applied,  whether  on 
property  or  of  education  or  what  not, 
must  be  at  best  a  rough  and  ready  way  of 
making  the  distinction.  But  it  is  obvious 
that  there  is  opportunity  for  establishing 
a  more  intelligent  test  than  any  we  have 
yet  employed,  and  that  the  League  has  a 
valuable  idea  for  our  legislators  to  con¬ 
sider.” 


12 


New  York  Daily  Tribune — June  12,  1907. 


IMMIGRATION  LEAGUE’S  WORK 

Statement  Showing  Productive 
Activity  at  Washington  and  Elsewhere. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League,  of  which  Edward  Lauterbach  is 
the  president,  has  issued  a  statement  of 
the  work  done  by  it  in  the  last  year.  The 
statement  calls  attention  to  the  delega¬ 
tions  that  have  been  sent  to  Washington 
to  oppose  restrictive  measures,  and  also 
to  the  delegations  that  have  been  sent  to 
many  national  gatherings  to  advocate  free 
immigration.  At  these  conventions,  the 
most  noted  of  which  were  at  Nashville, 
Tenn.,  and  Birmingham,  Ala.,  these  dele¬ 
gations  often  met  representatives  seeking 
adverse  state  and  federal  legislation,  who 
might  otherwise  have  presented  their 
cause  without  opposition. 

In  all  parts  of  the  country  the  example 
of  the  local  league  has  been  followed,  so 
that  Congress  has  received  many  delega¬ 
tions  and  resolutions  in  the  cause  of  free 
immigration.  The  statement  calls  atten¬ 
tion  to  the  fight  that  was  made  by  the 


League  against  the  Gardiner  bill,  which 
provided  a  head-tax  of  $40  from  each 
steerage  passenger,  and  also  to  the  defeat 
of  the  “educational  test,”  for  which  Rep¬ 
resentative  Bennet  gives  full  credit  to  the 
League. 

The  League  is  making  efforts  to  obtain 
the  deportation  of  the  members  of  the 
Black  Hand  and  of  all  foreign  criminals. 
It  also  considers  it  quite  proper  to  length¬ 
en  the  period  of  probationary  citizenship 
to  ten  years.  “The  honorable  title  of 
‘American  citizen’  would  then  be  con¬ 
ferred,”  says  the  statement,  “only  upon 
those  persons  who,  by  proper  conduct  and 
by  their  knowledge  of  our  institutions, 
have  shown  themselves  worthy  of  this 
privilege.” 

In  his  letter  Mr.  Bennet  advises  that 
the  League  continue  its  work  and  fight 
any  act  on  the  part  of  the  restrictionists. 
He  wrote  commendingly  of  the  work  done, 
and  said  that  without  the  aid  of  the 
League  there  would  surely  be  an  act  call¬ 
ing  for  an  educational  test  upon  the  stat¬ 
ute  books  at  the  present  time,  thus  ex¬ 
cluding  about  two  hundred  thousand  de¬ 
serving  immigrants  yearly. 


Trenton,  N.  J.,  Advertiser — June  30,  1907. 


TO  PROTECT  WORTHY  IMMIGRANTS. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  of  New  York  City  is  engaged  in 
an  endeavor  to  create  public  sentiment 
looking  to  closer  protection  of  the  rights 
of  American  citizenship.  It  does  not  ad¬ 
vocate  the  rejection  of  immigrants  simply 
because  they  are  illiterate;  it  rather  wel¬ 
comes  this  class  to  perform  a  kind  of  la¬ 
bor  for  which  there  is  always  an  active 
demand.  Street  paving,  the  building  of 
railroads  and  the  digging  of  subways 
utilize  a  vast  amount  of  unskilled  labor 
in  all  parts  of  the  country.  But,  says  the 
League  in  a  circular  recently  issued: 
“When  it  is  a  question  not  of  the  admis¬ 
sion  of  aliens,  but  of  conferring  on  them 
the  rights  of  citizenship — the  right  to 
choose  our  mayors,  governors  and  the 
President,  the  right  to  vote  for  judges, 
and  to  serve  as  jurymen  entrusted  with 
our  material  interests,  with  our  life  and 
the  honor  of  our  women — then  we  are 
more  exacting.  A  ten-year  requirement 


for  naturalization  would  also  save  our 
government  much  concern  from  natural¬ 
ized  citizens  who  raise  troubles  in  for¬ 
eign  lands.” 

There  is  no  question,  in  view  of  the 
very  large  immigration  of  recent  years 
and  much  of  it  of  a  not  very  desirable 
character  at  least  in  its  raw  state,  that 
great  caution  should  be  exercised  in 
turning  over  to  the  new  arrivals  the  full 
privileges  of  our  institutions.  Indeed,  the 
numerous  crimes  of  late  laid  at  the  doors 
of  newly  arrived  foreigners  in  the  larger 
cities  of  the  country,  have  strengthened 
somewhat  the  clamor  of  those  who  seek 
to  enforce  an  educational  test  upon  im¬ 
migrants,  and  to  incorporate  in  our  im¬ 
migration  laws  other  intolerant  features. 

A  drastic  restrictive  measure,  with  an 
educational  test  as  its  chief  feature, 
failed  of  enactment  in  the  last  Congress 
by  the  narrowest  of  margins;  while  a 
compromise  bill,  carrying  an  increased 
head-tax,  became  a  law.  That  efforts 
will  be  resumed  in  the  next  Congress  to 


13 


put  through  all  the  eliminated  provisions 
is  certain.  It  is  therefore  most  signifi¬ 
cant  that  the  friends  of  reasonable  im¬ 
migration  are  preparing  to  abandon  a 
purely  negative  programme  and  offer 
constructive  legislation  of  their  own.  The 
Liberal  Immigration  League,  the  influen¬ 
tial  organization  which  led  in  the  oppo¬ 
sition  to  the  narrow  bills  of  the  last  two 
years,  has  already  suggested  a  method  of 
dealing  with  the  pressing  problem  of  the 
alien  criminal,  which  certainly  deserves 
consideration.  *• 

The  idea  is,  in  effect,  to  extend  to 
criminals  the  principle  of  deportation  al¬ 
ready  applied  to  the  dependent  classes. 
Under  the  present  law,  if  an  immigrant 
for  any  reason  becomes  a  public  charge 
before  becoming  a  citizen,  he  may  be 
sent  back  to  the  country  from  which  he 


came.  The  Immigration  Bureau  has  de¬ 
veloped  a  system  of  co-operation  with  the 
poor  authorities  of  various  localities  and 
kept  its  records  in  such  a  way  that  the 
operation  of  this  law  is  now  comparative¬ 
ly  certain.  Several  hundred  deportations 
under  this  provision  are  made  from  New 
York  City  alone  every  year.  If  the  same 
foreigner  commits  a  crime,  however,  in¬ 
stead  of  becoming  a  pauper,  we  not  only 
put  ourselves  to  the  expense  of  his  pun¬ 
ishment,  but,  after  he  has  served  his  term, 
let  him  continue  to  live  in  this  country. 
It  is  cited  as  an  illustration  of  present 
conditions  that  132  Italian  “confidence 
men”  are  now  serving  time  in  Sing  Sing. 
If  the  same  men,  within  a  certain  period 
after  their  arrival,  had  merely  applied  for 
aid,  Italy  could  have  been  compelled  to 
take  them  back. 


Reading,  Pa.,  Telegram — June  26,  1907. 


NEW  IMMIGRATION  LEAGUE. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  is  the  name  of  a  busy  organization 
of  eminent  Americans  which  is  campaign¬ 
ing  vigorously  for  immigration  reform  on 
new  lines. 

It  does  not  oppose  plentiful  immigra¬ 
tion  nor  especially  care  for  an  education¬ 
al  test,  for  it  realizes  that  this  country 
needs  raw  labor  and  that  some  of  our 
worthiest  citizens  evolve  from  among  the 
illiterate  aliens  drawn  hither  by  brighter 
wage  prospects. 

What  it  wants  is  more  careful  effort 


to  keep  out  criminals;  and  a  ten-year  re¬ 
quirement  of  good  probationary  citizen¬ 
ship  before  naturalization.  It  would  de¬ 
port  the  alien  who  misbehaved  if  misbe¬ 
havior  came  during  this  probationary  pe¬ 
riod;  and  it  would  exact  at  naturalization 
a  strong  show  of  familiarity  with  Ameri¬ 
can  institutions  and  their  purposes.  In 
other  words,  it  would  put  up  the  bars  not 
so  as  to  exclude  the  worthy  poor  or  ig¬ 
norant,  but  so  as  to  reduce  the  number 
of  imported  rascals. 

These  general  principles  seem  sound. 
We  are  in  hearty  accordance  with  them. 


Cincinnati,  O.,  Star — June  27,  1907. 


Liberal  Immigration  League  Favors 
Deporting  Criminal  Aliens. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  has  issued  letters  to  Cincinnati¬ 
ans  interested  in  immigration  and  appeal¬ 
ing  to  them  to  support  a  movement  for 
a  law  providing  for  deportation  of  crim¬ 
inal  aliens,  just  as  dependent  aliens  may 
be  deported.  The  League  would  also  make 
a  ten-year  requirement  for  naturalization. 
The  letter  says  in  part: 

“We  also  lay  stress  on  raising  the 
standard  of  citizenship  by  prolonging  the 
period  of  probationary  citizenship  to  ten 


years,  and  by  requiring  of  candidates  for 
naturalization  a  guarantee  of  good  con¬ 
duct  and  knowledge  of  our  institutions. 
The  cry  for  labor  in  this  country  is  so 
great  that  we  welcome  immigrants  to  pave 
our  streets,  build  railroads  and  dig  sub¬ 
ways.  But  when  it  is  a  question  not  of 
the  admission  of  aliens,  but  of  conferring 
on  them  the  rights  of  citizenship — the 
right  to  choose  our  mayors,  governors, 
and  the  President,  the  right  to  vote  for 
judges,  and  to  serve  as  jurymen  entrusted 
with  our  material  interests,  with  our  life 
and  the  honor  of  our  women — then  we 
are  more  exacting.” 


14 


Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  Eagle — June  11,  1907. 


NEW  IMMIGRATION  POLICY. 


Exclude  the  Undesirables  and  Raise 
Probationary  Period  to 
Ten  Years. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  has  been  active  both  in  helping 
to  create  an  enlightened  public  sentiment 
throughout  the  country,  and  in  opposing 
specific  pieces  of  hostile  legislation.  Its 
headquarters  are  at  150  Nassau  Street, 
Manhattan.  Besides  distributing  by  thou¬ 
sands  books  and  pamphlets  in  favor  of 
immigration,  the  League  has  been  the 
pioneer  organization  to  hold  mass  meet¬ 
ings  and  send  delegations  to  Washington 
in  protest  against  restrictive  measures. 
The  League  has  sent  delegations  not  only 
to  Congress,  but  to  many  national  gath¬ 
erings,  such  as  the  Nashville,  Missouri, 
Mississippi  and  Birmingham  conventions. 
At  these  assemblies,  the  advocates  of  free 
immigration  often  met  representatives 
seeking  adverse  state  and  federal  legis 
lation,  who  might  otherwise  have  pre¬ 
sented  their  cause  without  anyone  to 
speaK  on  the  other  side. 


While  the  League  considers  immigra¬ 
tion  as  a  great  boon  to  this  country,  it 
believes  that  the  educational  test,  the  un¬ 
necessary  increase  of  head-tax  and  other 
restrictive  measures  are  harmful  through 
excluding  immigrants  of  the  right  sort, 
without  barring  out  the  undesirables,  and 
while  it  maintains  that  me  most  benefi 
cial  policy  is  that  of  free  immigration, 
yet  urges  a  drastic  policy  against  those 
who  abuse  the  hospitality  of  this  country. 
The  League  is  making  efforts  to  secure 
the  deportation  of  members  of  the  Black 
Hand  and  of  criminals  of  all  races.  It 
believes  that  instead  of  being  held  in 
our  prisons  as  a  burden  to  the  communi¬ 
ty,  all  new  arrivals  who  become  criminals 
should  be  deported,  as  is  now  done  with 
those  who  become  a  public  charge. 

The  League  also  considers  it  quite 
proper  to  lengthen  to  ten  years  the  pe¬ 
riod  of  probationary  citizenship.  The 
honorable  title  of  “American  citizen” 
would  then  be  conferred  only  upon  those 
persons  who,  by  proper  conduct  and  by 
their  knowledge  of  American  institutions, 
had  shown  themselves  worthy  of  this 
privilege. 

Edward  Lauterbach  is  president  of  the 
League. 


Norfolk,  Va.,  Landmark — August  25,  1907. 


The  circulars  from  the  National  Liberal 
Immigration  League  indorse  the  idea  of 
protecting  the  country  against  the  menace 
of  indigestible  immigration  “by  prolong¬ 
ing  the  period  of  probationary  citizenship 
to  ten  years,  and  by  requiring  of  candi¬ 
dates  for  naturalization  a  guarantee  of 
good  conduct  and  knowledge  of  our  insti¬ 
tutions,”  and  also  by  deporting  criminal 
aliens  as  we  now  deport  those  who  become 
public  charges. 

We  indorse  both  of  these  suggestions. 
The  probationary  period  of  ten  years 
might  not  be  long  enough,  but  it  would 
be  a  great  improvement  on  the  present 
lax  system  of  naturalization,  which  per¬ 
mits  our  own  votes  to  be  negatived  by 
those  of  half-baked  aliens  who  do  not 
know  a  hawk  from  a  handsaw,  so  far  as 


our  national  institutions  and  ideals  are 
concerned. 

There  could  be  nothing  more  absurd 
than  the  law  which  provides  for  the  de¬ 
portation  of  unnaturalized  immigrants 
who  become  paupers,  while  it  allows  those 
who  become  criminals  to  remain.  The 
Liberal  Immigration  League  is  to  be 
thanked  for  pointing  out  this  inconsist¬ 
ency;  and  its  co-operation  in  the  move¬ 
ment  to  lengthen  the  probationary  period 
for  aliens  who  wish  to  become  citizens 
ought  to  be  exceedingly  valuable. 

The  recklessness  with  which  the  United 
States  have  conferred  the  full  privileges 
of  citizenship  upon  those  who  are  unquali¬ 
fied  for  them  has  got  the  country  into  all 
sorts  of  trouble,  and  it  is  time  to  stop. 
All  that  has  been  done  cannot  be  undone, 
but  more  blunders  can  be  prevented. 


15 


St.  Louis,  Mo.,  Agriculturist — June  27,  1907. 


NEW  IMMIGRATION  POLICY. 

Many  of  the  policies  advocated  by  the 
National  Liberal  Immigration  League  are 
new  and  some  of  them  are  very  commend¬ 
able.  The  chief  object  of  the  organiza¬ 
tion  is  to  secure  free  immigration  with¬ 
out  restriction,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  that 
will  ever  be  obtained,  owing  to  the  strong 
opposition  that  was  shown  to  prevail 
against  such  a  policy  when  the  present 
law  was  before  Congress.  In  the  opinion 
of  persons  not  members  of  the  League, 
some  of  its  other  policies  are  more  im¬ 
portant  and  certainly  more  likely  to  be 
adopted  by  the  government.  On  one  point 
in  particular  should  the  League  have  the 
support  of  all  law-abiding  citizens  of  this 
country,  and  that  is  in  its  efforts  to  se¬ 


cure  the  passage  of  a  law  providing  dras¬ 
tic  punishment  for  immigrants  who  abuse 
the  hospitality  of  our  nation.  Deporta¬ 
tion  for  such  offenders  is  the  penalty  sug¬ 
gested  and  it  would  seem  that  no  better 
way  could  be  devised  for  getting  rid  of 
members  of  the  “Black  Hand”  and  similar 
organizations  that  are  terrorizing  our  cit¬ 
izens.  Instead  of  thrusting  new  arrivals, 
who  break  our  statutes,  into  prison  where 
they  are  an  expense  and  a  burden  to  the 
community,  it  would  be  far  better  to  ship 
them  back  to  the  countries  from  whence 
they  came.  Such  a  system,  combined  with 
the  present  restrictions,  should  serve  to 
furnish  protection  to  desirable  immi¬ 
grants  and  raise  the  standard  of  new  in¬ 
habitants  who  are  flocking  to  this  coun¬ 
try  in  countless  numbers. 


Johnstown,  Pa.,  Tribune~~June  12,  1907. 


FOREIGN  CRIMINALS. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League,  whose  purpose  is  to  aid  in  the 
proper  regulation  and  better  distribution 
of  immigration,  announces  that  it  will 
make  efforts  to  secure  the  deportation  of 
members  of  the  Black  Hand  and  of  crim¬ 
inals  of  all  races.  The  League  will  prob¬ 
ably  endeavor  to  secure  the  passage  of 
legislation  that  will  authorize  the  ban¬ 
ishment  of  unnaturalized  immigrants 
convicted  of  minor  offenses,  especially 
those  who  make  repeated  appearance  in 
the  criminal  courts. 

Industrial  communities  are  greatly  bur¬ 
dened  with  the  expense  of  detection,  ar¬ 
rest,  and  imprisonment  of  unnaturalized 
foreign  violators  of  the  law.  A  glance  at 


the  court  repor  ts  of  Cambria  County  must 
carry  the  conviction  that  an  undue  per¬ 
centage  of  foreign  names  appear  on  the 
trial  lists.  It  cannot  be  that  the  people 
of  southern  Europe  average  up  so  much 
worse  than  the  American  product.  It 
must  be  that  some  incentive  is  offered 
these  undesirable  persons  to  forsake  their 
own  land. 

The  suggestion  for  a  sort  of  espionage 
over  immigrants,  extending  over  a  term 
of  yeais,  and  based  upon  the  records  of 
criminal  courts,  has  some  merit.  The  Im¬ 
migration  League  says: 

‘V.r3  believe  that  instead  of  being  held 
in  our  prisons  as  a  burden  to  the  commu¬ 
nity,  all  new  arrivals  who  become  crim¬ 
inals  should  be  deported,  as  is  now  done 
with  those  who  become  a  public  charge.” 


The  following  article  appeared  both  in  the  Bangor,  Me.,  News  of  July  8, 
1907,  and  in  the  Manchester,  N.  H.,  Mirror  of  June  26,  1907. 


CITIZENS  ON  PROBATION. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League,  which  is  opposed  to  such  restric 
tive  proposals  as  an  educational  test,  a 
head-tax  or  a  property  qualification  t'oi 
aliens  seeking  admission  at  our  gates 
and  which  has  so  far  limited  itself  to 
negative  policies — that  is,  to  agitation 


against  specific  measures,  states  in  the 
annual  report  it  has  just  issued  that 
henceforth  it  will  endeavor  to  obtain  cer¬ 
tain  results  of  a  positive  character.  It 
believes  that  free  immigration  is  a  boon 
to  the  country,  to-day  as  at  any  previous 
period,  and  that  all  the  restrictive  meth¬ 
ods  that  have  been  proposed  would  ex¬ 
clude  desirable  aliens  without  seriously 


v. 


16 


incommoding  the  really  undesirable  ones. 
But  at  the  same  time  it  believes  that  a 
good  deal  more  than  has  been  done  can 
and  should  be  done  to  bar  out  and  rid  the 
country  of  immigrants  who  are  known, 
or  discovered  after  landing,  to  be  unde¬ 
sirable. 

It  holds,  for  example,  that  all  new  ar¬ 
rivals  who  become  criminals  should  be 
deported — as  are  those  who  become  pau¬ 
pers — instead  of  being  kept  in  prisons 
and  penitentiaries  at  the  expense  of  the 
community.  It  also  believes  in  lengthen¬ 
ing  to  ten  years  the  period  of  probation¬ 
ary  citizenship.  While,  it  says,  it  is  right 
to  admit  men  and  give  them  opportuni¬ 
ties  to  earn  a  livelihood,  we  are  not  bound 
or  called  upon  to  confer  citizenship  too 
freely.  The  title  of  citizen  “should  be 


conferred  only  upon  those  who,  by  proper 
conduct  and  knowledge  of  our  institutions, 
have  shown  themselves  worthy  of  I  he 
privilege.”- 

With  these  sentiments,  at  any  rate,  the 
advocates  of  immigration  restriction  will 
sympathize.  The  Liberal  Immigration 
League  has  among  its  members  such  men 
as  President  Eliot,  Andrew  Carnegie, 
Bishop  Potter,  General  Tracy,  President 
Woodrow  Wilson  and  R.  Fulton  Cutting, 
and  it  certainly  cannot  be  charged  with 
lack  of  devotion  to  the  material  and  moral 
welfare  of  the  country.  Between  it  and 
the  leagues  advocating  restriction  the 
question  is  one  of  fact,  not  of  principle 
Investigation  and  study  should  determine 
which  of  the  two  policies  is  beneficial  to 
the  country. 


Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  Daily  Post-Standard — Dec.  6,  1907. 


PHARISEEISM  AND  IMMIGRATION. 

With  the  resumption  of  Congress  the 
National  Liberal  Immigration  League  re¬ 
sumes  also,  intent  upon  preventing  the 
Sixtieth  Congress,  as  it  did  the  Fifty- 
ninth,  from  passing  a  law  to  the  effect 
that  only  educated  persons  need  apply. 

The  Gardner  bill  last  year  proposed  a 
head  tax  of  $40  and  would  have  excluded 
unlearned  aliens  from  the  country.  The 
league  got  the  head  tax  reduced  to  $4 
and  defeated  the  education  test  ;  hut  pub¬ 
lic  notice  was  given  by  the  restrictionists 
that  the  campaign  for  the  education  test 
would  be  resumed  in  the  Sixtieth  Con¬ 
gress.  As  Representative  Bennett  of 
Manhattan  says,  the  fact  that  the  re¬ 
strictionists  propose  to  continue  their 
efforts  makes  it  a  duty  for  the  league  to 
continue  its  efforts  also. 

Indeed,  it  would  seem  to  be  a  duty  for 
all  who  desire  to  preserve  the  best  Ameri¬ 
can  traditions  to  protest  against  the  nar¬ 
row,  selfish  and  unwise  policy  of  making 
book  learning  a  test  of  fitness  for  immi¬ 
grants.  The  league  itself  does  not  hold 
that  the  vote  should  be  given  to  the  un¬ 
fettered  alien ;  it  says,  on  the  contrary, 
that  there  should  be  a  probationary  term 


of  ten  years’  residence  before  an  alien 
is  granted  citizenship.  Neither  does  the 
league  propose  the  throwing  down  of  the 
bars  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men; 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  making  efforts 
to  secure  the  deportation  of  members  of 
the  Black  Hand  and  criminal  aliens  of  all 
races.  They  should  not  be  confined  in 
American  penal  institutions,  the  league 
believes,  but  deported  as  are  others  who 
threaten  to  become  public  charges. 

But  before  the  restrictionist  in  Con¬ 
gress  are  allowed  to  impose  an  educa¬ 
tional  qualification  upon  the  immigrant 
they  should  ask  why  the  country  should 
go  to  such  pains  to  shut  out  the  honest 
and  able-bodied  persons  who  are  in  such 

great  demand  for  the  performance  0f  the 

rough  tasks  of  American  physical  devel¬ 
opment.  They  should  ask  what  country  in 
New  York  State  has  the  highest  per  cent, 
of  illiterates.  It  is  a  country  inhabited 
mostly  by  the  native  born.  They  should 
ask  what  part  of  our  population  shows 
the  keenest  desire  for  the  advantages  of 
the  American  schoolhouse.  It  is  the  for¬ 
eign-born  and  their  children. 

Let  us  all,  so  far  as  possible,  brethren, 
avoid  the  sin  of  the  Pharisee.  It  doesn’t 
pay. 


17 


Columbus,  O.,  Dispatch — Dec.  8,  1907. 


An  Immigration  Suggestion. 

A  happy  thought  in  regard  to  immigra¬ 
tion  has  been  suggested  by  the  National 
Liberal  Immigration  League,  an  organization 
which  has  fought  most  of  the  immigration 
restriction  bills  that  have  been  introduced  in 
Congress.  The  head  tax  and  the  educational 
test  have  been  particularly  offensive  to 
the  League  which  has,  nevertheless,  recog¬ 
nized  that  it  is  proper  to  do  something  to 
shut  out  the  undesirables.  To  this  end  the 
League  proposes  a  probationary  period  of 
ten  years  for  all  immigrants,  during  which 
they  are  to  demonstrate  their  worthiness  to 
be  American  citizens.  If,  within  that  period, 
one  is  convicted  of  crime,  deportation  is  to 
be  a  part  of  his  punishment  and  he  is  never 
to  be  allowed  to  return.  If,  however,  at  the 
end  of  that  probationary  period,  he  has  de¬ 
meaned  himself  as  an  honest  man,  he  is  to 
be  allowed  to  become  a  naturalized  citizen. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  hard  sense  in  this 
proposition.  Under  the  present  law,  an  im¬ 


migrant  who  becomes  a  pauper  before  taking 
out  his  final  naturalization  papers  may  be 
deported,  but  there  is  no  provision  whatever 
for  sending  back  the  immigrant  who  be¬ 
comes  a  criminal.  Instead,  he  is  punished 
by  imprisonment  and  then  turned  out  to 
resume  his  criminal  career  in  the  land  to 
which  he  is  already  indebted  for  months, 
perhaps  years,  of  maintenance.  There  is 
more  need  for  sending  back  the  criminal 
than  for  sending  back  the  pauper  immi¬ 
grants,  and  there  certainly  is  wisdom  in  the 
ten-year  probationary  citizenship.  It  is  not 
just  to  ourselves  to  permit  these  foreigners 
to  participate  in  our  elections  of  judges, 
mayors,  governors,  legislators  and  presi¬ 
dents  till  they  have  something  of  the  native 
American’s  fitness  for  suffrage.  American 
citizenship  has  been  all  too  cheap.  It  should 
be  an  honorable  title,  conferred  only  on 
those  who,  by  proper  conduct  and  knowl¬ 
edge  of  our  institutions,  have  shown  them¬ 
selves  to  be  worthy  of  it. 


Bloomington,  Ill.,  Pantagraph — December  10,  1907. 


SHUT  OUT  THE  CRIMINALS. 

It  is  probable  that  the  present  Congress 
may  amend  the  immigration  laws  along 
lines  suggested  by  the  National  Liberal 
Immigration  League.  This  League  is 
made  up  of  eminent  American  citizens 
who  are  actuated  by  no  hostility  to  immi¬ 
gration  but  are  moved  by  considerations 
of  safety  for  both  foreign  born  and  na¬ 
tive  citizens. 

The  plan  of  the  League  in  brief  is  the 
encouragement  of  a  liberal  immigration 
policy,  the  deportation  of  alien  criminals 
and  the  fixing  of  a  probationary  term  of 
ten  years’  residence  before  an  alien  is 
granted  final  naturalization  papers.  In 
short  the  League  would  continue  the 
present  liberal  policy  of  imposing  as  lit¬ 
tle  restriction  as  possible  upon  the  hon¬ 
est  and  industrious  who  seek  our  shores 
and  would  put  harder  restrictions  upon 
all  criminals  who  would  come  this  way. 

In  respect  of  criminals  the  present  law 
is  weak.  The  law  provides  for  the  de¬ 
portation  of  all  who  are  found  to  be 


paupers  before  their  “first  papers”  look¬ 
ing  to  citizenship  are  taken  out  and  un¬ 
der  this  provision  hundreds  have  been 
sent  back  annually.  But  there  is  no 
provision  for  getting  rid  of  such  as  are 
not  paupers,  but  have  proved  to  be  crim¬ 
inals.  The  country  is  burdened  with 
these  and  hundreds  of  them  are  in  the 
penitentiaries  while  hundreds  of  others 
are  at  large. 

If  deportation  could  be  adopted  toward 
this  criminal  element  it  would  save  the 
country  immensely  and  if  the  barriers 
imposed  before  they  can  reach  naturali¬ 
zation  can  be  made  harder — the  proba¬ 
tionary  term  longer — it  would  undoubt¬ 
edly  operate  as  a  wholesome  corrective. 
It  would  give  a  leeway  in  sending  back 
the  undesirable  would-be  citizens  along 
with  the  paupers  and  the  riddance  of  the 
criminals  would  be  worth  far  more  to 
the  country  than  the  riddance  of  the 
paupers. 

A  curious  circumstance  of  the  case  is 
that  while  we  have  not  guarded  our  ports 
from  the  entry  of  such  a  class  foreign 


18 


countries  have  actually  been  deporting 
their  own  criminals  and  the  result  has 
been  that  we  have  caught  more  than  our 
share.  A  high  authority  declares  that 
since  a  criminal  deportation  law  was 
passed  at  Tunis  ten  thousand  Sicilian 
criminals  and  semi-criminals  have  emi¬ 
grated  to  the  United  States.  It  seems 
that  there  has  been  no  demand  for  these 
persons — many  of  them  with  long  crim¬ 
inal  records  at  home — to  show  their  pass¬ 
ports  on  coming  here.  In  this  way  many 
have  slipped  in  that  should  have  been 
shut  out.  They  may  come  with  money 
enough  to  keep  above  the  line  of  paupers 
and  may  be  able  by  hook  or  crook  to 
meet  all  the  pecuniary  requirements  in 
becoming  citizens  although  they  may 
continue  as  blackmailers,  b?,ndits  and 
kidnapers  to  prey  upon  the  honest  peo¬ 
ple  of  the  country.  Deportation  is  the 
cure  for  such  an  infliction. 

The  question  has  a  fresh  and  live  in¬ 
terest  in  view  of  the  outrages  committed 
recently  by  members  of  the  Black  Hand 
and  other  secret  orders  of  cutthroats 
from  Southern  Europe.  It  is  fresh  in 
mind  how  Italian  kidnapers  murdered  a 
child  in  Louisiana  which  they  held  for  a 
ransom  that  was  not  paid.  An  Italian 
desperado  recently  killed  one  of  his 
countrymen  in  New  York  and  when  an 
attempt  was  made  to  arrest  him  he  killed 
two  policemen  before  he  was  subdued. 


A  prosperous  Italian  contractor  in  the 
same  city  some  weeks  ago  received  let¬ 
ters  from  the  Black  Hand  threatening 
him  if  he  did  not  pay  them  money  at  a 
certain  time  and  place.  He  disregarded 
their  threats  and  the  other  night  he  was 
shot  from  ambush  and  killed.  These  are 
but  samples  of  numerous  other  outrages. 

It  is  not  enough  to  try  such  cases  in 
court  and  send  the  guilty  to  the  gallows 
or  the  electric  chair.  Every  member  of 
such  an  order  ought  to  be  ferreted  out 
before  the  overt  act  and  deported  from 
the  country  and  all  who  show  criminal 
tendencies  before  becoming  citizens 
should  be  rounded  up  and  sent  back 
whence  they  came.  And  the  probation¬ 
ary  term  necessary  to  determine  their 
disposition  to  appreciate  the  privileges 
of  American  citizenship  might  well  be 
lengthened.  If  it  would  appear  as  a 
hardship  to  some  it  might  be  borne  for 
the  benefits  it  would  bring  to  all. 

The  immigration  to  this  country  for  the 
year  now  closing  has  been  more  than 
180,000  in  excess  of  the  year  previous. 
The  country  wants  honest  immigrants 
and  has  a  place  for  them,  but  it  wants 
no  European  criminals — many  of  whom 
have  come  here  to  prey  upon  and  mur¬ 
der  their  own  countrymen.  Stricter  laws 
governing  this  class  are  what  the  situa¬ 
tion  imperatively  demands. 


Fargo,  N.  D.,  Forum  and  Daily  Republican — December  10,  1907. 


The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  wants  to  put  prospective  citizens 
on  more  probation.  It  would  demand  a 
ten-year  residence  before  an  alien  is 
granted  final  citizenship.  The  suggestion 
will  no  doubt  be  generally  endorsed  in 
the  Eastern  half  of  the  United  States  and 
out  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  In  the  North¬ 
west,  the  necessity  for  doubling  the  time 
from  five  years  is  less  imperative — in  fact 
such  a  plan  is  not  demanded.  The  Scandi¬ 
navian  immigrants  largely  predominate 
in  this  part  of  the  country.  There  are 
some  Germans  and  kindred  races,  the 
large  majority  of  whom  readily  assimi¬ 
late  American  ideas  and  rapidly  become 


intelligent  and  desirable  citizens.  They 
are  sufficiently  enterprising  to  readily 
adopt  American  customs  and  the  five-year 
probationary  period  is  amply  sufficient 
for  them.  In  localities  where  the  immi¬ 
grants  are  largely  from  Southern  Europe 
and  of  a  lower  and  a  dangerous  class — 
citizenship  should  no  doubt  be  made  more 
difficult.  The  movement  is  unlikely,  how¬ 
ever,  to  gain  much  force  in  this  part  of 
the  Northwest.  The  League  has  other 
objects — one  of  which  is  the  deportation 
of  alien  criminals.  The  organization  will 
receive  the  unanimous  co-operation  of  all 
good  citizens  along  that  line. 


19 


Butte,  Mont.,  Inter-Mountain — December  11,  1907. 


REGULATION  OF  IMMIGRATION. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League,  whose  purpose  avowedly  is  “the 
proper  regulation  and  better  distribution 
of  immigration,”  embraces  within  its 
ranks  many  notable  men.  R.  Fulton  Cut¬ 
ting  of  New  York,  Dr.  Parkhurst,  Wood- 
row  Wilson,  General  Tracy,  Mr.  Bliss  and 
Dr.  Burrell,  are  only  a  few  of  the  big 
minds  in  the  movement.  The  League  thinks 
all  decent  immigrants  should  be  admitted 
and  all  the  unfit  barred  or  if  already  ad¬ 
mitted,  deported.  “While  we  consider  im¬ 
migration  as  a  great  boon  to  this  country, 
while  we  believe  that  the  educational  test, 
the  unnecessary  increase  in  head-tax  and 
other  restrictive  measures  are  harmful 
through  excluding  immigrants  of  the  right 
sort  without  barring  out  the  undersir- 
ables,  and  while  we  maintain  that  the 
most  beneficial  policy  is  that  of  free  im¬ 
migration,  yet  we  urge  a  drastic  policy 
against  those  who  abuse  the  hospitality 
of  this  country,”  says  a  recent  statement. 
“We  are  making  efforts  to  secure  the  de¬ 
portation  of  members  of  the  Black  Hand 
and  of  criminals  of  all  races.  We  believe 
that  instead  of  being  held  in  our  prisons 
as  a  burden  to  the  community,  all  new 
arrivals  who  become  criminals  should  be 
deported,  as  is  now  done  with  those  who 
become  public  charges,  criminals  being  a 
real  public  charge. 

“We  also  consider  it  quite  proper  to 
lengthen  to  ten  years  the  period  of  pro¬ 
bationary  citizenship.  The  honorable  title 
of  ‘American  citizen’  would  then  be  con¬ 
ferred  only  upon  those  persons  who,  by 
proper  conduct  and  by  their  knowledge  of 
our  institutions,  had  shown  themselves 
worthy  of  this  privilege.” 

The  repeated  atrocities  of  the  Black 
Hand  and  other  alien  secret  societies  with 
murder  and  blackmail  as  their  trade  have 
induced  permanent  aliens  to  turn  their  at¬ 
tention  to  regulation  of  the  ingress  of 
foreigners.  Whereas,  a  decade  ago,  a  con¬ 
gressman  risked  his  seat  by  mere  insinua¬ 
tion  that  the  most  ignorant  European  is 
not  immeasurably  more  needful  to  the  na¬ 
tion  than  the  most  enlightened  American, 
free  discussion  of  the  subject  is  now  per¬ 
missible  in  Congress  without  retailiation 
by  the  foreign  vote.  For  the  aliens  in 
America,  mind  you,  are  almost  solely  to 
blame  for  the  entrance  of  undesirable  fel¬ 
low  countrymen.  During  many  years, 
they  flew  into  rage  at  the  slightest  attack 


upon  European  accessions.  The  motives 
were  sometimes  generous,  sometimes  self¬ 
ish,  but  ill-advised.  Many  of  them  wished 
to  bring  over  friends  and  relatives.  Others 
hoped  to  see  more  of  their  countrymen 
enter,  in  order  to  strengthen  their  politi¬ 
cal  position.  Hence,  Congress  feared 
openly  to  take  up  the  evil  and  this,  per¬ 
haps  the  most  vital  matter  since  1890,  has 
gone  without  proper  attention. 

Now,  however,  the  alien  in  America  is 
as  anxious  as  the  native,  to  regulate  the 
entrance  of  all  foreigners.  The  Italian 
Herald  of  New  York  now  comes  forward 
with  advocacy  of  more  strict  laws  and 
other  alien  journals  are  commenting  with 
less  rancor  and  more  patriotism,  on  the 
proposition  to  prolong  our  national  exist¬ 
ence  awhile  by  beginning,  with  due  hu¬ 
mility,  to  sweep  the  refuse  of  Europe  back 
into  Europe’s  backyards. 

Such  laws  as  we  have  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  particularly  well  framed.  The 
central  notion  of  all  our  Legislation  to-day 
is  so  to  bind  the  enforcing  official  that  he 
will  be  unable  to  find  a  single  loophole  for 
graft.  In  this  policy,  we  pursue  a  wide¬ 
spread  national  error,  permeating  every 
walk  of  American  life  and  every  branch 
of  American  effort,  an  absurd  notion  that 
a  dead  statute  of  itself  can  restrain  a  live 
rogue.  Nothing  would  be  lost  by  injecting 
some  common  sense  and  common  human¬ 
ity  into  our  American  laws,  for  if  the  of¬ 
ficial  in  power  is  a  grafter,  no  law  or  laws 
will  restrain  him. 

A  case  in  point  comes  in  a  New  York 
dispatch  this  week.  A  poor  Spanish  girl 
from  Hayti  comes  to  New  York,  as  a  stow¬ 
away.  She  was  starving  and  friendless 
at  “home.”  A  New  Yorker,  meeting  the 
young  woman  on  the  dock,  fell  in  love 
with  her  and  offered  marriage.  But  our 
august  government,  majestic  in  its  wis¬ 
dom,  has  enacted  statutes  forbidding  just 
this  thing,  and  the  little  maid  must  go 
back  to  Hayti,  there  to  go  to  the  devil  as 
she  sees  fit,  while  an  American  who  might 
have  made  her  happy  is  left  lonely  upon 
the  dock,  biting  his  finger-nails.  The 
dispatches  are  full  of  instances  of  such 
fool  laws,  laws  sweeping  and  general, 
with  consideration  of  exceptional  cases. 
Of  all  our  jurisprudence,  that  relating  to 
immigration  is  the  least  humane  and  sen¬ 
sible  and  for  this — because  by  his  oppo¬ 
sition  he  has  stifled  proper  discussion  in 
Congress — the  alien  himself  is  to  blame. 


20 


Memphis,  Tenn.,  Scimitar — December  13,  1907. 


NATIONAL  LIBERAL  IMMI¬ 
GRATION  LEAGUE. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  is  still  another  organization  that 
promises  progress.  Its  purposes  as 
stated  are: 

(1)  A  liberal  immigration  policy. 

(2)  The  deportation  of  alien  criminals. 

(3)  A  probationary  term  of  ten  years’ 
residence  before  an  alien  is  granted  the 
final  citizenship  papers. 

We  rather  think  a  ten-year  period  is 
too  long. 

The  League  has  been  instrumental  on 
the  other  hand  in  reducing  the  tax  on 
worthy  immigrants,  and  either  has 


avoided  or  proposes  to  avoid  any  edu¬ 
cational  qualifications.  It  believes  prop¬ 
erly  that  there  are  many  immigrants  of 
good  character  and  natural  intelligence 
who  would  develop  into  good  citizens 
and  yet  who  are  not  book-learned.  It 
will  undertake  to  direct  immigration 
away  from  the  crowded  cities  to  the 
country  and  smaller  towns.  It  is  right 
in  the  view  that  the  country  needs  good 
immigrants,  and  equally  needs  the  avoid¬ 
ance  of  bad  ones.  The  basic  principle 
of  the  organization  seems  to  be  one  of 
selection.  Its  headquarters  are  at  150 
Nassau  street,  New  York.  It  has  on  its 
committees  a  representative  number  of 
the  foremost  men  in  the  country. 


Brockton,  Mass.,  Times — December  14,  1907. 


DEPORT  ALIEN  CRIMINALS. 

The  National  Immigration  League 
may  be  expected  at  this  session  of  Con¬ 
gress  to  again  bring  up  for  passage  the 
bill,  which  so  narrowly  failed  last 
year  and  which  in  general  terms  calls 
for  a  liberal  immigration  policy,  the  im¬ 
mediate  deportation  of  all  alien  criminals 
and  a  probationary  term  of  ten  years’  resi¬ 
dence  before  an  alien  is  finally  granted 
his  citizenship  papers. 

The  League  does  not  lay  very  much 
stress  on  the  educational  tests  nor  on 
the  amount  of  money  in  the  possession 
of  the  immigrant.  They  would  admit 
ignorant  but  honest  laborers  freely,  but 
draw  the  most  impassable  of  lines  be¬ 
tween  the  alien  criminal  and  his  landing 
on  American  shores.  And  more  than  that. 


if  any  alien  became  engaged  in  criminal 
practices  before  attaining  citizenship,  he 
would  be  sent  back  as  promptly  as  the 
one,  whose  crimes  were  committed  in 
Europe.  The  officials  of  the  League 
merely  urge  that  we  approach  this  ques¬ 
tion  of  immigration  calmly,  sanely  and 
intelligently,  and  cease  putting  a  pre¬ 
mium  upon  imbecility.  Of  the  deportation 
of  alien  criminals  there  can  be  no  two 
minds  among  the  people  of  this  coun¬ 
try.  The  line  is  drawn  right  there  for 
of  such  material  decent  citizens  of  the 
republic  cannot  possibly  be  made.  Ig¬ 
norance  can  be  enlightened  in  our 
schools,  but  we  have  no  way  of  making 
over  the  natural  and  inborn  criminal. 
Europe,  which  dumped  them  on  our 
shores,  should  receive  them  back  in 
record  time.  It  is  a  very  just  solution 
of  the  problem. 


Meridian,  Miss.,  Evening  Star — December  16,  1907. 


A  TIMELY  MOVEMENT. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League,  promoted  and  maintained  by  a 
number  of  noted  American  -citizens,  is  one 
of  the  newest  and  most  active  forces  we 
have  in  this  country  looking  toward  the 
proper  handling  of  the  great  question  of 
foreign  immigration.  We  are  in  receipt 
of  a  communication  from  the  organization 


enumerating  the  several  reforms  it  hopes 
to  work  out,  the  two  paragraphs  below 
giving  some  idea  of  the  character  of  labor 
the  society  has  taken  on  itself.  Says  the 
circular: 

While  we  consider  immigration  as  a 
great  boon  to  this  country,  while  we  be¬ 
lieve  that  the  educational  test,  the  un¬ 
necessary  increase  in  head-tax  and  other 


21 


restrictive  measures  are  harmful  through 
excluding  immigrants  of  the  right  sort 
without  barring  out  the  undesirables,  and 
while  we  maintain  that  the  most  bene¬ 
ficial  policy  is  that  of  free  immigration, 
yet  we  urge  a  drastic  policy  against  those 
who  abuse  the  hospitality  of  this  country. 
We  are  making  efforts  to  secure  the  de¬ 
portation  of  members  of  the  Black  Hand 
and  of  criminals  of  all  races.  As  the 
Bible  says,  “Ye  shall  put  the  evil  from 
amongst  you.”  We  believe  that  instead 
of  being  held  in  our  prisons  as  a  burden 
to  the  community,  all  new  arrivals  who 
become  criminals  should  be  deported,  as 
is  now  done  with  those  who  become  pub¬ 
lic  charges,  criminals  being  a  real  public 
charge. 

We  also  consider  it  quite  proper  to 
lengthen  to  ten  years  the  period  of  proba¬ 
tionary  citizenship.  The  honorable  title 
of  “American  citizen”  would  then  be  con¬ 
ferred  only  upon  those  persons  who,  by 
proper  conduct  and  by  their  knowledge 
of  our  institutions,  had  shown  themselves 
worthy  of  this  privilege.  The  cry  for 
labor  in  tnis  country  is  so  great  that  we 
welcome  immigrants  to  work  as  laborers 
on  our  streets,  railroads,  farms,  and 
mines.  We  welcome  even  more  willingly 


the  illiterates,  as  they  can  do  harder 
work.  But  when  it  is  a  question  not  of 
the  admission  of  aliens,  but  of  conferring 
on  them  the  rights  of  citizenship — the 
right  of  choosing  our  public  officials,  the 
right  to  vote  for  judges  and  to  serve  as 
jurymen  entrusted  with  our  material  in¬ 
terests,  with  our  life  and  with  the  honor 
of  our  women — then  we  are  more 
exacting. 

Especially  to  be  commended  is  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  League  to  work  for  a  “ten- 
year  citizenship”  law.  For  many  years 
the  corrupt  politicians  of  the  Northern 
cities  have  run  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
ignorant,  vicious  men  to  the  courts  and 
through  fraud  obtained  for  them  papers 
of  citizenship  for  the  sole  purpose  of  vot¬ 
ing  them  at  elections.  Many  of  our  great 
national  policies  are  frequently  defeated 
by  the  vote  of  these  people  who  have  not 
the  slightest  conception  of  or  care  for  our 
institutions. 

If  the  League  does  only  a  small  part  of 
the  work  it  has  planned  for  accomplish¬ 
ment  it  will  have  performed  a  noble  un¬ 
dertaking  and  worthily  won  distinction 
as  one  of  the  really  useful  societies  of  the 
country. 


Bridgeport,  Conn.,  Standard — December  17,  1907. 


AN.  EFFORT  TO  APPROVE 

“The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League,”  is  for  “the  proper  regulation 
and  better  distribution  of  immigration” 
and  is  doing  considerable  in  that  line  of 
work  too.  It  has  been  working  up  public 
opinion  continually  and  systematically 
along  reasonable  and  legitimate  lines  and 
it  has  received  the  support  of  the  press 
very  generally.  The  subject  of  immigra¬ 
tion  is  one  which  has  long  needed  regu¬ 
lating  by  some  broad  and  comprehensive 
plan  which  should  be  just  and  even  gen¬ 
erous  to  the  immigrant  and  yet  recogniz¬ 
ing  facts  and  conditions  to  which  the  pres¬ 
ence  of  immigrants  in  ever  increasing 
numbers  have  given  rise.  The  managing 
members  of  the  League  are  such  men  as 
£>  Edward  La  terbach,  president;  Charles 
D.  Parkhurst,  D.  D.;  Charles  W.  Eliot, 
president  of  Harvard  University;  Wood- 
row  Wilson,  president  of  Princeton  Uni- 
,  versity,  Hon.  Cornelius  N.  Bliss,  Rt.  Rev. 


Henry  C.  Potter,  Bishop  of  New  York, 
Andrew  Carnegie,  Gen.  G.  M.  Dodge,  etc. 

The  League  advocates : 

(1)  A  liberal  immigration  policy,  (2) 
the  deportation  of  alien  criminals,  (3) 
a  probationary  term  of  ten  years’  resi¬ 
dence  before  an  alien  is  granted  the  final 
citizenship  papers. 

This  platform  has  been  approved  very 
generally  already  and  the  reasons  for  it 
are  given  by  the  League  itself  in  its 
pamphlet.  The  first  principle  is  founded 
on  what  has  always  been  the  American 
idea  with  reference  to  such  things  and 
the  second  is  only  the  rule  of  right  reason 
and  sound  common  sense.  With  respect 
to  the  third,  the  pamphlet  of  the  League 
says:  “We  also  consider  it  quite  proper  to 
lengthen  to  ten  years  the  period  of  proba¬ 
tionary  citizenship.  The  honorable  title 
of  ‘American  citizen’  would  then  be  con¬ 
ferred  only  upon  those  persons  who,  by 
proper  conduct  and  by  their  knowledge 
of  our  institutions,  had  shown  themselves 


22 


worthy  of  this  privilege.  The  cry  for 
labor  in  this  country  is  so  great  that  we 
welcome  immigrants  to  work  as  laborers 
on  our  streets,  railroads,  farms,  and 
mines.  We  welcome  even  more  willingly 
the  illiterates,  as  they  can  do  harder 
work.  But  when  it  is  a  question  not  of 
the  admission  of  aliens,  but  of  conferring 
on  them  the  rights  of  citizenship — the 
right  of  choosing  our  public  officials,  the 
right  to  vote  for  judges  and  to  serve  as 
jurymen  entrusted  with  our  material  in¬ 
terests,  with  our  life  and  with  the  honor 
of  our  women — then  we  are  more 
exacting.”  As  has  been  said  the  pro¬ 
gramme  of  the  League  has  been  largely 
endorsed  by  the  press  of  the  country  and 
certainly  the  character  of  the  men  who 
are  in  and  of  it  is  enough  to  give  it  a 
place  in  the  consideration,  if  not  the  com¬ 
mendation,  of  all  intelligent  citizens.  As 
stated  in  their  pamphlet  the  full  plan  and 
programme  of  the  Immigration  League  is 
as  follows: 

To  promote  the  welfare  of  immigrants, 
while  serving  the  best  interests  of  this 
country. 

To  endeavor  to  diminish  the  congestion 
in  large  cities  by  aiding  the  unemployed 
to  go  to  small  towns  and  farming  districts 
and  different  parts  of  the  country  where 
their  services  will  be  most  useful. 


To  deflect  the  current  of  immigration 
to  parts  of  the  United  States  where  the 
demand  for  labor  is  large  and  untilled 
land  is  available,  by  bringing  together  in¬ 
tending  immigrants  in  their  own  coun¬ 
tries  into  groups  expressly  destined  for 
and  proceeding  to  such  localities,  thus 
placing  them  outside  the  congested  re¬ 
gions  and  establishing  them  in  contented 
villages  where  their  Americanism  will  be 
fostered  and  their  welfare  assured;  in 
other  words,  helping  the  immigrants  to 
form  in  assigned  localities  such  per¬ 
manent  settlements  as  will  benefit  both 
themselves  and  the  country. 

To  promote,  when  necessary,  the  enact¬ 
ment  of  such  legislation  as  will  make  this 
direction  of  immigration  more  effective. 

To  oppose  any  unjust  and  un-American 
restriction  of  immigration. 

To  advocate  principles  of  justice  in  our 
national  laws  dealing  with  the  subject  of 
immigration. 

To  educate  newcomers  to  this  country 
and  fit  them  to  become  intelligent,  loyal 
and  law-abiding  American  citizens. 

To  distribute  literature  and  employ 
other  means  to  circulate  generally  the 
facts  concerning  immigration. 

To  establish  branches  in  all  the  princi¬ 
pal  cities  of  the  United  States  for  the 
above  purposes. 


Springfield,  O. ,  Republican — December  19,  1907. 


A  Constructive  Immigration  Policy. 

Notwithstanding  the  recent  turn  in  the 
tide  of  immigration,  on  account  of  the 
financial  panic  and  curtailment  in  business 
operation,  the  annual  report  of  the  United 
States  commissioner  of  immigration  and 
naturalization,  for  the  year  ending  June 
30  last,  must  impress  the  country  by  its 
presentation  of  facts.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  call  fresh  attention  to  Mr.  Sargent’s 
statistics.  That  over  1,200,000  immigrants 
came  to  this  country  in  the  last  fiscal  year 
is  now  the  demonstration  of  the  country’s 
power  of  attraction  in  prosperous  times. 
For  a  year  or  two  the  figures  will  prob¬ 
ably  decline,  but  we  shall  know  what  to 
expect  when  prosperity  vaults  upward 
again,  and  the  immigration  question  that 
Commissioner  Sargent  has  stated  will 
surely  remain  with  us.  He  asks  whether 
our  ability  to  absorb  foreign  elements  is 


not  on  the  verge  at  least  of  being  over¬ 
taxed. 

A  renewal  of  the  battle  over  the  restric¬ 
tion  of  immigration  in  Congress  this  win¬ 
ter  is  hardly  to  be  expected  in  view  of 
the  current  exodus  of  laborers  from  our 
shores  and  the  approaching  presidential 
election.  The  new  law  enacted  at  the 
last  session  may  well  be  allowed  to  work 
undisturbed  by  fresh  legislation  for  an¬ 
other  year.  But,  inasmuch  as  the  advo¬ 
cates  of  drastic  restriction  are  likely  to 
become  active  again  when  the  conditions 
are  more  favorable,  those  who  have  hith¬ 
erto  successfully  opposed  them  may  profit 
by  a  careful  reconsideration  of  the  ques¬ 
tion.  There  is  undoubtedly  a  growing  be¬ 
lief  that  the  difficulties  encountered  in  the 
government  of  our  great  cities  are  due 
partly  to  the  mass  of  raw  and  undigested 
citizenship  which  swollen  immigration, 
combined  with  indulgent  naturalization 


23 


laws,  has  created  for  the  manipulation  of 
politicians  and  the  exploitation  of  selfish 
corporate  interests.  The  question  of  im¬ 
proved  municipal  government  is  interest¬ 
ing  an  increasing  number  of  people,  and 
they  are  sure  to  study  the  connection  be¬ 
tween  inefficient  government  and  the  vot¬ 
ing  lists.  There  is,  also,  the  question  of 
crime.  The  Black  Hand  infamies  among 
the  Italian  population  in  New  York  and 
other  cities  have  added  to  the  disquiet. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  some  of  the  races 
that  come  to  America  have  excellent  rec¬ 
ords  in  respect  to  obedience  to  law,  and 
it  is  true  also  that  races  weak  in  one 
particular  are  strong  in  another.  The  im¬ 
migrant  Italians  from  Southern  Italy  may 
he  prone  to  crimes  of  bloodshed,  but  those 
who  know  them  best  assert  that  stealing 
among  them  is  comparatively  unknown. 
It  would  be  exceedingly  hazardous  to  in¬ 
dict  any  race  for  criminal  propensities,  in 
comparison  with  other  races,  yet  it  is 
doubtless  true  that  the  special  criminal 
weakness  of  an  immigrant  race  will  be 
an  influence  in  forming  public  opinion 
concerning  more  restrictive  laws. 

In  the  more  recent  debates  on  the  im¬ 
migration  question  it  was  fully  established 
that,  from  an  economic  point  of  view,  the 
problem  was  really  one  of  distribution 
over  an  extensive  territory.  Many  sec¬ 
tions  of  the  country  remain  backward  in 
the  production  of  wealth  because  of  a 
sparse  working  population,  and  this  is  one 
of  the  exigent  causes  of  the  oriental  issue 
that  has  lately  been  revived  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  The  country’s  development  as  a 
whole  is  undoubtedly  open  to  criticism  as 
having  been  too  rapid,  for  which  the  high 
protective  tariff  should  be  held  chiefly  re¬ 
sponsible,  but  it  is  not  open  to  dispute  of 
course  that  the  United  States,  econom¬ 
ically  speaking,  is  capable  of  sustaining  a 
population  several  times  larger  than  the 
present  number  of  its  inhabitants.  Oppon¬ 
ents  to  the  restriction  of  immigration 
have  justly  placed  emphasis  upon  this 
fact.  Give  us  a  suitable  distribution  of 
the  newcomers  from  Europe  over  the  na¬ 
tional  domain  and  most  of  the  evils  aris¬ 
ing  from  congestion  in  the  cities  would 
disappear. 

Efforts  to  divert  the  stream  to  various 
sections  of  the  country  are  being  made 
with  some  degree  of  success,  yet  the  at¬ 
traction  of  the  great  cities,  where  “col¬ 
onies”  of  their  compatriots  flock  together 
in  particular  localities,  is  irresistible  to 
many  immigrants.  These  “colonies”  are  a 
problem  in  themselves,  and  intelligent  ef¬ 


forts  are  being  made  to  provide  them  with 
Americanism  by  means  of  social  settle¬ 
ments,  whose  mission  cannot  be  too 
warmly  indorsed.  But,  after  all,  the  ques¬ 
tion  arises  whether  the  opponents  to  the 
restrictive  policy  should  not  now  offer  a 
positive,  conservative  policy  in  dealing 
broadly  with  the  immigration  issue.  The 
question  grows  more  pressing  whether,  as 
Commissioner  Sargent  says,  we  have  not 
reached  the  point  where  our  assimilative 
powers  are  on  the  verge  at  least  of  being 
overtaxed.  A  certain  kind  of  assimilation, 
of  course,  is  always  possible,  but  the  kind 
of  assimilation  the  majority  of  us  are 
anxious  for  is  that  in  which  the  American 
people  absorb  the  immigrants  rather  than 
one  in  which  the  immigrants  absorb  the 
American  people. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League,  among  whose  sponsors  are  such 
men  as  President  Eliot  of  Harvard,  Pres¬ 
ident  Wilson  of  Princeton,  Bishop  Potter, 
Rev.  Dr.  Parkhurst  and  Andrew  Carnegie, 
has  in  the  past  been  very  influential  in 
checking  the  restrictive  movement,  but  in 
now  coming  forward  with  a  constructive 
programme  it  reveals  a  policy  guided  by 
wisdom  and  patriotism.  It  proposes  two 
new  measures,  while  adhering  strongly  to 
its  old  position  of  leaving  wide  open  the 
door  to  the  alien.  First,  the  League  sug¬ 
gests  that  those  immigrants  who  become 
criminals  within  a  certain  period  after 
their  arrival  should  be  deported  to  the 
country  of  their  origin.  Second,  the 
League  advises  that  the  period  of  proba¬ 
tion  before  an  immigrant  may  become  an 
American  citizen  be  lengthened  to  ten 
years.  And  it  announces  with  a  sense  of 
conviction:  “When  it  is  a  question  not  of 
the  admission  of  aliens,  but  of  conferring 
on  them  the  rights  of  citizenship — the 
right  of  choosing  our  public  officials,  the 
right  to  vote  for  judges  and  to  serve  as 
jurymen  entrusted  with  our  material  in¬ 
terests,  with  our  life  and  with  tne  honor 
of  our  women — then  we  are  more  ex¬ 
acting.” 

These  two  proposals  are  exceedingly 
simple,  and  it  was  well  to  place  them 
before  the  country.  They  are  worthy  of 
serious  discussion,  and  it  is  to  be  frankly 
said  that  they  promise  to  gather  a  for¬ 
midable  body  of  support. 


24 


The  following  article  appeared  both  in  the  Marquette,  Mich.,  Journal  of 
December  24,  1907,  and  in  the  Waterbury,  Conn.,  Republican  of 

December  25,  1907: 


TEN-YEAR  CITIZENS. 

The  National  Liberal  Immigration 
League  has  heretofore  fought  efforts  for 
the  restriction  of  immigration.  It  has 
held  that  we  should  leave  our  doors  open 
to  all  mankind  and  that  as  our  forebears 
found  here  a  refuge  from  the  oppressions 
of  the  old  world,  political,  religious  and 
economical,  so  ought  the  present  genera¬ 
tions  of  Europeans  and  future  generations 
for  all  time,  if  they  desired.  Nevertheless 
the  League  now  comes  forward  with  two 
proposals  designed  not  strictly  to  limit 
immigration,  but  to  protect  the  country 
from  the  effects  of  too  great  an  influx. 

First,  the  League  proposes  a  rule  under 
wrhich  those  immigrants  who  become 
criminal  within  a  certain  period  after 
their  arrival  here  shall  be  deported  to 
the  country  from  which  they  come.  Sec¬ 
ond,  it  advises  that  the  period  of  proba¬ 
tion  before  an  immigrant  can  become 
an  American  citizen  be  lengthened  to 
ten  years,  and  in  this  connection  it 
says  that  “when  it  is  a  question  not  of 
the  admission  of  aliens,  but  of  conferring 
on  them  the  rights  of  citizenship — the 
right  of  choosing  our  public  officials,  the 


right  to  vote  for  judges  and  to  serve  as 
jurymen  entrusted  with  our  material  in¬ 
terests,  with  our  life  and  with  the  honor 
of  our  women — then  we  are  more  ex¬ 
acting.” 

The  proposals  of  the  League  will  ap¬ 
peal  to  every  citizen.  The  problem  pre¬ 
sented  by  immigration  is  a  serious  one. 
The  immigrants  congregate  in  the  large 
cities  and  form  colonies  in  which  the 
language  and  customs  of  the  old  country 
are  maintained.  Under  such  conditions 
they  remain  in  effect  foreigners,  yet  they 
are  given  a  voice  in  the  government  of 
the  city  and  the  country.  In  many  re¬ 
spects  what  is  said  against  the  orientals 
is  true  of  the  majority  of  the  foreigners 
now  coming  to  this  country.  We  can 
utilize  them  and  in  time  can  assimilate 
them,  we  hope,  but  the  work  of  assimil¬ 
ation  is  slower  than  it  was  formerly  and 
it  becomes  a  little  more  difficult  each 
year.  The  suggestion  that  a  longer  period 
of  probation  be  required  before  making 
them  American  citizens  seems  to  be  a 
sensible  one  and  it  might  be  supple¬ 
mented  to  our  manifest  advantage  by 
greater  requirements  in  the  way  of 
education. 


Houston,  Texas,  Chronicle —  December  24,  1907 


NATIONAL  LIBERAL  IMMIGRATION 
LEAGUE. 

There  has  been  so  much  discussion  of 
the  question  of  immigration,  and  so  many 
demagogues  have  declaimed  in  so  many 
ways  upon  it,  veering  in  their  opinions, 
or  at  least  their  expressions  to  catch  the 
ever-changing  breezes  of  public  sentiment 
that  it  is  very  interesting  to  get  hold  of 
some  utterances  upon  the  question  which 
are  sane,  sincere  and  practical. 

The  Chronicle  has  persistently  and  con¬ 
sistently  contended  that  there  must  be 
some  reasonable  limitation  put  on  immi¬ 
gration  to  the  United  States,  some  tight¬ 
ening  of  the  lines  of  restraint.  Every  in¬ 
telligent  man  must  see  that  no  country 
can  stand  to  have  millions  of  the  refuse 
of  every  land  poured  into  its  borders,  and 
vested  as  soon  as  they  land  with  all  the 


privileges  and  powers  of  citizenship,  and 
this  truth  has  impressed  itself  upon  the 
minds  of  those  who  are  responsible  for 
the  organization  and  operation  of  the 
National  Liberal  Immigration  League, 
which  numbers  among  its  membership 
many  of  the  most  distinguished  men  in 
every  walk  of  life  in  the  United  States. 

The  League  contends  (1)  for  a  liberal 
immigration  policy;  (2)  the  deportation 
of  alien  criminals;  (3)  a  probationary 
term  of  ten  years’  residence  before  an 
alien  is  granted  final  citizenship  papers. 

The  League  contends  that  the  educa¬ 
tion  test,  head-tax  and  other  restrictive 
measures  serve  to  exclude  desirable  im¬ 
migrants  without  barring  out  the  unde¬ 
sirables,  and  while  it  believes  that  free 
immigration  is  beneficial,  yet  urges  a 
drastic  policy  against  those  who  abuse  the 
hospitality  of  this  country. 

It  is  proposed  to  secure  the  deporta- 


tion  of  all  members  of  the  Black  Hand, 
and  criminals  of  all  races,  following  the 
Bible  injunction,  “Ye  shall  put  the  evil 
from  amongst  you.” 

One  of  the  announcements  of  the  League 
is:  “We  also  consider  it  quite  proper  to 
lengthen  the  probationary  period  of  citi¬ 
zenship  to  ten  years.  The  honorable  title 
of  ‘American  citizen’  would  then  be  con¬ 
ferred  only  upon  those  persons  who,  by 
proper  conduct  and  by  their  knowledge 
of  our  institutions,  had  shown  themselves 
worthy  of  this  privilege.  The  cry  for 
labor  in  this  country  is  so  great  that  we 
welcome  immigrants  to  work  as  laborers 
on  our  streets,  railroads,  farms,  and 
mines.  We  welcome  even  more  willingly 
the  illiterates,  as  they  can  do  harder 
work.  But  when  it  is  a  question  not  of 
the  admission  of  aliens,  but  of  conferring 
on  them  the  rights  of  citizenship — the 


right  of  choosing  our  public  officials,  the 
right  to  vote  for  judges  and  to  serve  as 
jurymen  entrusted  with  our  material  in¬ 
terests,  with  our  life  and  with  the  honor 
of  our  women — then  we  are  more 
exacting.” 

These  are  sensible  words,  and  a  sign 
of  returning  reason — a  reaction  from  a 
lot  of  insincere  demagogy  which  has 
cursed  the  nation. 

The  president  of  the  League  is  the  dis¬ 
tinguished  Jewish  lawyer  of  New  York, 
the  Hon.  Edward  Lauterbach,  and  when 
such  men  as  he  and  Dr.  Parkhurst,  Presi¬ 
dent  Eliot  of  Harvard,  President  Wilson 
of  Princeton,  Bishop  Potter,  Andrew  Car¬ 
negie  and  General  Greenville  Dodge  join  in 
such  a  movement,  the  public  is  encour¬ 
aged  to  believe  there  will  be  soon  some 
national  legislation  on  a  subject  of  ever¬ 
present  importance. 


INDEX 

(  Newspapers  Arranged  by  States  ) 


Page 


Conn.,,  Bridgeport,  Republican .  24 

“  Standard . 21 

D.  C..,  Washington,  Herald .  8 

“  Pathfinder .  11 

Ill.,  Bloomington,  Pantagraph .  17 

Ind.,  Elkhart,  Review .  8 

Me.,  Bangor,  News .  15 

Portland,  Advertiser .  7 

Mass.,  Brockton,  Times . 20 

Gloucester,  Times .  4 

Much.,  Marquette,  Journal .  24 

Miiss.,  Meridian,  Evening  Star .  20 

Mo.,  St.  Louis,  Agriculturist .  15 

M. ont.,  Butte,  Inter-Mountain .  19 

Neb.,  Lincoln,  Journal .  6 

N.  H.,  Manchester,  Mirror .  15 

N.  J.,  Trenton,  Advertiser .  12 

N.^  Y.,  Brooklyn,  Daily  Eagle .  14 

“  Standard-Union .  3 

New  York,  Evening  Post .  6 


Page 

N.  Y.,  New  York  (Continued)  Globe  and 

Commercial  Advertiser  10 


“  Italian  Herald .  5 

“  Tribune .  12 

Wall  Street  Journal..  8 

Rochester,  Chronicle  .  9 

Syracuse,  Post-Standard .  16 

N.  D.,  Fargo,  Forum  and  Daily  Re 

publican .  18 

O. ,  Cincinnati,  Evening  Star .  13 

Columbus,  Dispatch .  17 

Springfield,  Republican . .  22 

Pa.,  Easton,  Press .  .  8 

“  Sunday  Call .  9 

Johnstown,  Tribune .  15 

Reading,  Telegram. .  13 

Wilkes-Barre,  Record .  10 

R.  I.,  Pawtucket.  Times .  5 

Term.,  Memphis,  Scimitar .  20 

Tex.,  Houston,  Chronicle .  24 

Va.  Norfolk,  Landmark .  14 


